


Kaleidoscope Heart

by Tiffo



Category: Ghost Hunt
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-04-20 20:49:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 92,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4801775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiffo/pseuds/Tiffo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of the White Heart Series things seem to be getting back to routine at SPR. Until a series of new twists throw them right back in to chaos again. New questions only complicate old concerns. Can Naru control his PK? What about Mai and Naru? Did Mai really love Gene? When will Gene move on? SPR continues to look for answers to both the paranormal and their own lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prolouge

Run.

He is coming. Run.

_Her legs burned, her side ached_ , _her lungs threatened collapse, but she had to keep moving. Her arms felt so heavy and her wrist throbbed, it was probably broken. She clenched her fists, or at least attempted to, her pinky and ring finger on the right were also most likely broken. Blood dripped from tightly held digits, but not hers. See how well he could find her again without a left eye._

Sick fuck.

_She could still feel his hands on her, pulling, tearing, invading. Her footing faltered on the uneven ground and she grabbed the nearest tree. The rough bark grated against the already tender flesh of her exposed torso, but she barely noticed. Instead, she listened, trying to hear anything other than her own ragged breath and frantic heartbeat. The pounding so loud it threatened to make her eardrums burst. Her head swiveled frantically in an attempt to get her bearings. It was so dark, the dull surfaces of the thick wood around her absorbed what light made it down from the night sky.  Where could she run to? She had to get somewhere._

_There. To her right. She could see the light from the lamps on the foot path that looped around the length of the park. She knew this path! It was the jogging path in Egota no mori park. She was so close to school!_

_If she could just make it to the light of the path she would be safe. Someone would see her. He wouldn’t try to get her in the light._

_She would never leave the light again._

_Sucking in as much air as she could, she took off for the light. So close. So —._

_Tripping over the edge of the defined path, she sprawled face down across the gravel. The stones bit into her skin, but she didn’t care. She was in the light. The Light! Its soft electrical buzz was the sweetest sound she had ever heard._

Crunch. _The buzzing brilliance was overpowered by the sound of her own heartbeat once again. Maybe she had imagined it. Or maybe she had moved her own foot in the gravel. Every muscle in her body went taut. Her breath caught in a clenched throat._ Crunch.

_“No,” she whispered, her voice hoarse and rasping. “No, no, no.” But she had made it, she had made it to the light._ Someone, someone would see her. He wouldn’t get her here. He couldn’t— 

_Her_ _head jerked to the left as something took her roughly by the hair. With her neck tilted up she could see familiar black boots and green khaki pants. She felt sick._

_“Tsk Tsk.” She cringed at the sound of his voice. “Where do you think you were you going? We weren’t done honey. You and I have lots more fun to have.”_

_No, she had made it!_

_Someone would come. Someone would._

_“Someone.” She begged the light._

_“You’re right,” he agreed. His hand stopped its slow inspection under her already-tattered skirt. “Someone could interrupt us here. We should head back home where we could have some more privacy.”_

_The grip on her hair tightened and he began dragging her back towards the darkness. Not the darkness! She needed to stay in the light! The light!_ _It jolted through her and she could move again. Her hand grasped at his on her head, lessening the pain just enough that she could begin to think._

_She had run, but he had caught her. She had scratched the living hell out of his face and had at least temporarily blinded him in the left eye and he had still found her. But she wouldn’t give up, how could she give up now?_

_She lay there as he dragged her back retracing the ground she had just fought so hard to achieve. The light was getting further and further away. Soon he would have her back in the darkness. It had been so hard to get out. She would not spend another day in that dark place!_ NO!

_She reached her hand out and grabbed at his nearest boot. He stumbled slightly as his tread met with the uneven surface of her hand instead of the ground. He tried to kick it away and she cried out, but as he began his trudging steps again she flailed her legs out and arched her back as she began to scream. Anything to loosen the grip he had on her hair. Anything to get away from him and back to the light._

_He threw her to the ground, knocking the wind out of her, silencing her. Leaves stuck to the mud that caked her face and body._  

_“Scream like that again, I slit your throat. You hear me? You are beginning to try my patience. First you scratch up my pretty face, then you go out for an unscheduled walk in the park, and now_ little gnat _you are getting in my way.”_

_She didn’t respond, though she couldn’t imagine he expected her to._

_He had let go of her, she could run again._ _This time she would escape for sure._

_“Now get up and get going,_ Class Rep. _I’m tired of carrying your ass back.” She shuddered at the use of her school title. It was amazing how quickly she could go from reveling in the designation to hating it. Suddenly, it clicked._

_He knew she was class rep. He knew her. His voice it had seemed so familiar. He knew her, and now, now she knew_ him _._

_“Why are you doing this, Kawamura-san?”_

_“What did you say?” His voice a heady mix of anger and hate with a smooth layer of fear underneath._

_“You can’t keep me here, Jurou.”_

_Perhaps letting him know she knew who he was had been a mistake. She lay on the ground, unmoving.  Her muscles coiled and ready. This time she would wait until he leaned over her and she would bite his throat out. This time—_

_She screamed as a sharp pain shot up from the back of her left ankle. Her head shot around her shoulder, looking down the length of her prone form. Something felt wrongly loose. Something that was supposed to be taut. She attempted to move her foot, but it was impossible. From the pain if not more._

_“Interesting things, Achilles tendons.” She looked up to see his bloody mangled face. No longer covered by the white cloth mask he had worn. The same mask she had turned red beneath her finger nails._

_The shadows were once again attempting to swallow them up, but what small light there was reflected in his eyes. Eyes that she had seen stare out the window from the back of their classroom since the start of the year. Eyes, she had more than once caught turned in her direction. Eyes that now held a fever._ Why, Kawamura-san?

_“Thickest tendon in the body, incredibly strong, and yet with just a little cut—”He gave the small knife in his hand a quick flick and she saw it flash as some of her blood flew off the tip, exposing more of the shiny blade. “Now, are you going to behave or do I have to make it a matching pair?”_

_She didn’t reply. Her own eyes glazed. She was enraptured by that small spark of light in his hand._

I just have to get to the light. If I get to the light I’ll be safe.

_He stepped closer, grabbing what remained of her skirt and mumbling to himself._

_“Why did you say that class rep, why did you have to go and say that?” His arm shook while he spoke. “Now look what you did.”_

_But she didn’t see. Her eyes tracked the after burn of his knife as he spoke._ The light.

_With a force that briefly lifted her from the ground, he tore the tattered garment from her waist. He held the knife near her face, but it was just too far for her to reach it. As if to mesmerize her with its brilliance._

_“I had plans class rep, you would have seen, you would have understood. Now it’s too late._

_His hand was back on her now. Groping at her exposed flesh, sliding with ease where before it had rasped like sandpaper._

_“Now we have to be together out here in the dirt. You would have understood. If you had only given it time.” After a moment she realized the slippery sticky trail his hand was leaving was her own blood. Lubricating the path to her own defilement._

_She had a fleeting thought that she should feel something because of that, but all she could see was the light in his hand. So close. Just there. She had to get to the light._

_He leaned back a bit, his hand leaving her to fumble with his pants. This movement caused the light to bounce off the swaying blade in front of her. Too busy with freeing himself, he didn’t notice as her eyes followed those six inches of molten light._

The light!

_She propelled her head forward. She had to get to the light!_

_At the last moment he saw her movement and his wrist twisted forward in shock. The sound was wet and hard. Instantly she knew, she had found it for real this time._

The light!

_She had reached the light! She could feel its warmth trickling down her neck, falling over her chest, and finally spreading down across her torso. It brushed aside the night’s chill, washed away the sticky remnants of his touch. The light poured out of her, covering her, protecting her. She choked on her own happiness, tears threatening to spill everywhere. Her tormentor screamed, and scrambled back from her._

_“Look, Kawamura-san.” She tried to ask him if he could see the light that poured out of her, could he feel it? It was so warm, so comforting. Her words were jumbled in her own ears submerged in the sound of the light._

_Enraptured, she lay back and watched as the light broke into a million pieces above her, its radiance taking on an emerald hue._

_“Shit, shit, shit-” she heard a voice cry out from miles away._

_Her vision shifted, closer to the congregation of lights that called out to her, waiting for her to join them. She paused in her passage, had she been alone before this? She felt compelled to look behind her afore she continued to her fellow points of light._

_There, lost in the darkness, was a young man, his tee shirt and pants stained and caked with dark mud and leaves. He reminded her of someone. Someone from school?_

_Beneath him, white snakes thrashed and then stilled. Peering over his shoulder, she found that they were not actually snakes, but the very white limbs of some sort of strange creature with red, navy, and brown colorings. A moment more and she recognized that the creature used to be a young girl in a high school uniform. The brown handle of a knife protruded from her throat, blocking the flow of the fountain that was provided her with her lovely red coloring._

_A thought—she felt sorrow for the creature._

_But it passed. The lights, the lights were waiting for her._

With a gasp, Oliver pulled himself back from the vision. That had been close, he had lingered too long. He forced himself to breath deep and slow.  Oliver waited, face pressed against the now warm desktop. He waited as the reality of the vision continued to fade. He was nothing if not patient.

Years of using his psychometry taught him that the best thing to do after a vision was to wait. Any major effects on his person began to fade almost immediately. At times there were physical reminders of the bodily harm that he experienced, but any lasting effects were purely superficial. A few bruises perhaps. But so long as he waited, the pain and potentially dangerous elements of any injury would fade.

He sat up slowly, and nothing felt too amiss. Save for the Post-It notes that were currently trying to make its home on the right side of his face.  Good, his body was transitioning back to reality at an acceptable pace. He placed the small silver bracelet he had held to channel the vison back into its clear plastic bag on the desk.

A quick knock and Lin was in the room as Oliver began removal the offending documents. No doubt he would have to hear another lecture on the use of even this small amount of his PK.

“Noll…” his controlling custodian began.

Oliver raised a hand to stop him as he removed a yellow sticky note from above his right eye.

“Before you start, I am fine. Really.” Oliver’s voice was scratchy and raw as if he had had a severe cold over the last few days. Another remnant of his body’s visceral representation of the vision. Putting the offending note paper on his desk he began jotting down quick notes about the vision. “If I don’t use small bursts of it at my choosing, it will just build up and could accidentally trigger with anything I touch.” He cleared his throat.

Lin gave a small nod. Oliver knew his logic was sound so there was no reason to argue. He handed the completed note and the bag with the bracelet to Lin.

“Have Yasuhara contact the Takenouchi family. She died in Egota no mori park. I believe the perpetrator was a boy in her class named Kawamura. He was keeping her in a house near the park. She scratched his face quiet badly. There should be healing scars. I am not sure what he did with the body posthumous. This should give even the incompetent Japanese police enough to move forward. Also remind them we appreciated their respecting our wishes to remain anonymous in this investigation.”

Lin nodded, but before he turned to go he added. “Just be careful, Noll. Gene isn’t here anymore to help you control it if you draw too much.”

The rage flared before Oliver could stop it.

“I am well aware of the fact that my brother is no longer with us, Lin. As I recall _I_ was the one who made everyone else _aware_.” Oliver’s voice was low and even colder than usual.  “It is precisely because he is no longer here that I must try to determine a method of control that does not rely on him. It’s been over two years and I still get weakened from simple PK exercises. Pathetic.” Oliver spat the end.

Remembering he was not alone Oliver stopped and stared at his chaperone daring him to call him out. Lin looked like he had more he wanted to say. Lin’s concerns over his charge’s physical or emotional state were forestalled when an all too familiar scream tore through the SPR office.

Oliver’s eye’s jerked to the door of the office.

“That was Mai.” He said, raising from his chair. Urgency clouded his brain, rushing in as the sound died down. As Oliver took a second impatient step towards the door his left leg collapsed beneath him and he fell to the carpeted floor with a faint cry of surprise. Lin moved to his side, looking over the troublesome limb.

Oliver reached for the back of his ankle. Of course. Fool. _I should have waited longer before standing._ The wound to the Achilles tendon had been quite severe. 

“It’s just the residue of the vision,” he told his overprotective guardian, angry at both himself for rushing to move about so soon after a vision and the older man who still insisted on patting down his leg.

“Don’t touch me Lin. Lin!” Oliver jerked his leg towards his torso and used the desk to pull himself up from the floor. He took a moment to try to regain his composure after that outburst. In the after effects of that vision his aversion to touching was only heightened. Taking a third breath, he could feel the unnecessary panic that had momentarily overwhelmed him subsiding. He was hobbling, but with each step his leg felt stronger underneath him. Leaning against the doorframe, he scanned the common area of the office.

Yasuhara was on the couch, grappling with something below him and out of view. Another step forward confirmed Oliver's fear. Mai was beneath Yasu, struggling under his weight and his grip on her wrists. Oliver’s stomach dropped and he flew the last few feet to Yasuhara. His left ankle was screaming, but went ignored.

"Yasuhara, don't touch her!" Oliver shouted, knocking the shocked older boy to the floor between the couch and coffee table.  A glass of water on the coffee table wobbled precariously from Yasuhara’s impact. The heavy sound of the glass and sloshing of the liquid pulled Oliver back from his outburst.  The reaction had been visceral. Nothing could have stopped him from crossing that space.

This was another remnant from the vision, he was sure. It wasn’t him. It was the vision that curled his fingers into fists. He recoiled from the lingering desire to punch Yasuhara in the face. Opting instead to tightly clench the back of the couch. Ensuring that he remained in control of his wayward body.

Yasuhara looked up at his employer, trying to process what exactly had just happened.

“I wasn’t…, he began, “she started screaming and flailing. I thought she might hurt herself. I was trying to wake her up.”  His voice dropped. “The dream sounds bad boss, it sounds real bad.”

Oliver could see the concern for Mai written all over Yasu’s face.  He knew, he had always known, that Yasu had only been trying to help their young colleague. This was why it was so important not to act on emotion. They only lead to foolish decisions.

Oliver had the strong urge to beat a hasty retreat back into his office. Perhaps if he left now, they could establish an unspoken agreement to never speak of this moment again. But another small cry from Mai pulled Oliver back from his concern over his damaged ego. A quick glance back in her direction confirmed that Yasuhara had been right, not that he had doubted him. Mai still seemed to struggle against some sort of invisible attacker.

Yasuhara leaned over her and Oliver’s protective instincts once again flared without his permission, his right hand shooting out to the other boy’s shoulder. He shook his head to clear these ridiculous impulses while masking the reaction with guidance.

“She is most likely having a vision.” Oliver explained. “It would be best not to force her out of it. Speaking to her and gently attempting to draw her attention back to reality would be the better course of action. Try not to touch her it could be dangerous for both of you—“

“Why?” Mai’s delirious muttering cut Oliver off. “Why are you…”

Oliver froze. _What had she—?_

 “Can’t keep me here,” Mai mumbled. Her voice soft, but defiant, below them.

_Oh no._

She shouldn’t be having that vision. They weren’t on a case, there was no reason for her to see that…

Was it his fault? His stomach dropped with the thought. The Michinori case, they had shared a vision, and before that on the Urado case the dream she had described had been similar to the vision he had endured. After Oliver had learned of Gene’s involvement in her dreams he had decided that he and Gene had just both recognized the importance of those moments and that was why his brother had led her to have such similar visions to his own. But his brother had done that, not him. Not—

 “Light.” Mai’s voice grew more desperate. Oliver could feel that irrational panic building again.  Another remnant of the vision; his body was reacting to the stimuli from the incident he himself had just experienced.

He reached down over the back of the couch and shook Mai’s shoulders vigorously. “Mai, wake up. Wake up right this instant!”

“Big Boss, I wouldn’t call that gentle.” Yasuhara looked unsure if he should intervene or not. “I thought you said not to touch—“

 Yasu seemed to struggle with his understanding that Naru knew far more on how to deal with issues of the paranormal than he did and the fact that the way Naru was shaking the unconscious girl one might begin to worry if she would get whiplash.

“Look.” Mai’s whisper was almost imperceptible, but it seemed to knock the breath out of Oliver. He stopped shaking her, they were running out of time,  he had to wake her up _now_ and this was getting them nowhere.

“Hey boss, are you ok?” Yasuhara asked, his concern expanding in to include Oliver. “You look kinda sick. Should I get Li-“ Yasu halted, a warbaling to his right pulling his attention to the coffee table. Mai’s glass of water rattled against the table for a brief moment before floating upward and passing through the air until it stopped above Mai’s face. The glass hovered for half a second then upended its liquid contents all over the unconscious girl.

Mai spluttered and swatted blindly to fend off the watery attack. “What—?” Her eyes flew open, dashing wildly from side to side.

A loud shout of “Noll!” caused the upended glass to drop on Mai’s chest before it rolled to the floor. Heavy clucks marking its stubborn refusal to shatter throughout the decent. Lin stood over Oliver looking very displeased with the display of PK that he had joined them to witness.

Naru ignored Lin’s looming and watched his now soaked investigator as she attempted to regain her surroundings. Her expression was a mixture of scared, confused, and even angry. Her red glassy eyes darted around the room, never focusing on anything. It was clear she was only slightly aware of her surroundings.

“Oliver,” Lin began to lecture, “that was a reckless use—”

“Mai, do you know where you are?” Oliver interrupted. “Listen, Mai. It’s important that you do not try to move until the vision wears off. If you move around too suddenly, injuries that your body thinks it has could be exacerbated and cause you real harm. Yasuhara, grab a waste basket. She may become ill.”

Mai blinked a few times, water droplets catching in her eyelashes. Oliver gripped the cuff of his black oxford and carefully wiped away the glistening droplets from round Mai’s eyes. Yasu froze in his compliance of Oliver’s task and Lin forgot his lecture on over extending oneself on PK use. Mai’s eyes attempted to focus and landed on her employer’s, panic and pain still clear in their hazelnut depths.

“Shhh,” Oliver soothed. “It’s over now, you are safe. He is not here, he cannot hurt you.”

“I made it?” she rasped. “To the light?”

“Yes, you made it.”

Oliver could feel the confused and inquisitive stares that he and Mai were receiving from the room’s other occupants. The scrutiny oozed across his shoulders and settled like an itch at the base of his neck. What had he been thinking! His response it had been so, reactionary.

He decided it would be best for him to just head back to his office. The situation seemed quite under control.

Pulling his eyes from Mai’s grip he forced himself to look directly at Yasuhara.

“Yasuhara, the bin?” Oliver reminded. “And it would be best if you kept her from—“

Oliver cut off with a sharp intake of breath as his left leg gave out from under him once again. Tightening his grip on the back of the couch and he jerked awkwardly in an effort to maintain stability, his face in a deep grimace. Lin seized Oliver by the shoulders. Oliver, in turn, attempted to shrug him off. He was fine, it was just his bloody stupid ankle.

“I’m ok, Lin. Help Mai—”

Darkness poured in from the edges of his vision, leaving only a small pin prick of intense light in the center. He could feel the room start to sway. _Not now, not yet._

Oliver lost his grip on the couch and consciousness.

_It’s my fault._

* * *

AN: Editied 7/14/16

 


	2. Chapter 1

## Chapter 1-Mai

Mai sat at her desk, considering talking to Naru about her vision for what was probably the hundredth time in the last two days. They didn’t have any active cases right now so she couldn’t figure out if it was linked to anything or not.  She had never had a vision outside of a case before. What could it mean? If Gene had been there she could have asked him.  Maybe they were about to take a case and Naru just hadn’t mentioned it yet.

Yasu had said that Naru seemed concerned about her the other day, as if that narcissist could ever be concerned with anything other than his work.  She had seen him when she first woke up, but her memories of those first few moments were frazzled and disjointed at best.

 _S_ he remembered the scene, the panic, the pain, and she remembered the light. She could almost remember Naru’s face as he told her something, but it had been so soft. Not a command as usual, but an almost assuaging tone. Whatever he had said, it had brought down the fear and started her back to herself.

Then he was gone and she thought that she had imagined him as well. Or that maybe he had been Gene? She had cringed at the thought of making that mistake again.

It had taken her a few more moments of waking up to ask Yasuhara what was going on.

_“You had a vision Mai, I think it was a bad one. “ Yasu grimaced._

_He was right, it was…bad. Anger flared in her. She had felt so helpless! She still felt gross. Just gross. She needed the world’s longest shower. She felt sticky and damp, though it had to be sweat and not blood. She must have sweat buckets._  

_“How do you feel?” Yasu asked. “Ok? Are you—“_

_“Uggghh, I feel nasty. My clothes are stuck on me. It’s…” Mai shuddered to convey the rest of her sentence. “I didn’t know I could sweat so much.”_

_“Oh, that’s is probably more from the big boss dumping water all over you.”_

_“He what!” Mai shrieked, pulling herself up by the back of the couch._

_She immediately regretted her decision to sit up. Her head felt like it was splitting in two and shouting was not the best of ideas at the moment either, offending both her head and her scratchy throat. She grabbed her skull and rubbed her temples._

_Yasuhara reached for her shoulders._

_“Don’t touch me!” She yelled, recoiling from the act of concern and shoving him away with surprising force. Her breath became erratic as she gripped her head, but not from the physical pain._

_A shocked Yasu stared back at her, his usual amused smirk replaced with confusion. He seemed unsure how to ensure her continued safety while complying with her wishes._

_What was she doing? Why had she pushed him like that? He hadn’t done anything. Why was her body acting like this? And why was Lin staring at her from behind the couch?_  

_“I’m… I’m sorry,” Mai whispered. “I don’t know.”_

_“It’s ok,” he reassured her. “Naru just said I shouldn’t touch you when you had a vision. And what do I go and do? It’s my fault.”_

_“Naru?”_

_Yes, wait, hadn’t Yasu said that it was Naru who had poured water on her? Where was he? Was this some sort of water hit and run? That didn’t seem his style. Naru was definitely the type to stand nearby and silently gloat while doing his damnedest to try to make it seem like that was precisely not what he was doing._  

_She looked from Lin to Yasu. “Where is Naru? Is he here? I feel like, I thought I saw him, but I don’t…”_

_If only her skull didn’t feel like it was trying to bust its way out of her head. Memories of the vision still crowding in to her mind. Almost every five seconds she had to remind herself she was in the office and not in the woods. It was so disorientating._

_“Lin why are you hiding behind the couch? I… I didn’t throw things did I?” Mai asked her face coloring._

_Lin stared at her through his long bangs and slowly shook his head in the negative._  

 _Why_ was _he back there? Mai leant forward with the intention of peering over the back of the couch, but a sharp pain in her left leg caused her to fall back with a cry. She clutched at the back of her ankle. She could feel the wrongness, the looseness of the thing._

Blood, so much blood. She had to get out. There was so much-

 _She looked down at her ankle. There was no blood. No dark mud. Just the light blue blanket that she had bought for the office, because she_ knew _that Naru had been sleeping here no matter how much he denied it. She couldn’t force him to use the blanket, but she could know it was there just in case the thought crossed his mind._

The light! _She had to get to the light, she had to get away from-_

Stop it! _She commanded herself._ That wasn’t me, it wasn’t really happening! 

_She rubbed at her ankle, the pain was going away._

_“Taniyama-san, what is wrong with your ankle?”_

_Mai looked back up to see three eyes and a very judgmental set of bangs fixed on her once again._   _She pulled her hand back. “Nothing, Lin.”_ It just got sliced open a few minutes ago. _“I must have moved too quickly and gotten a Charlie horse. It’s almost gone, see.”_  

_To prove her point she swung her legs to the front of the couch, braced herself, and stood. All without shaking. Maybe, she would favor that ankle for a little while. She held it lightly off of the floor. Just for a bit._

_Lin seemed far from impressed and the bangs over his right eye seemed to judge her even more. But Mai’s concern with hypercritical hair faded as from her new vantage she could see the prone form of her employer behind the couch._  

 _“Oh No, Naru!” Instinctively she lunged toward him and fell face first into the cushions of the couch. She remembered too late her recent decision to favor her left ankle._  

 _“Stupid ankle!” She reprimanded into the cushion._ Stupid me. _She reprimanded herself. “And stupid couch.” She gave it a sharp punch just to make sure it knew how disagreeable she found it at this moment.  In an effort to avoid the worst of Lin’s hair-stare she stood as quickly as she could. Daring Yasu and Lin ask if she was ok again._  

 _Lin had picked up Naru while Mai had been practicing her acrobatics and was bringing him around to the front of the couch. Mai shuffled away from the couch, only slightly limping, to allow Lin to deposit Naru on the opposite end._  

 _Mai rested her arm on the top of Naru’s armchair, putting only a tiny bit of her weight on the chair. Yasu helped Lin position Naru on the couch and threw the blanket over his legs._  

 _What had happened to Naru? Mai couldn’t help but worry. The last time he had been unconscious flooding her mind. He had nearly died. And it had been her fault, she had pushed him too far._ _Had she done something?_

_Lin looked worried. Well, worried for Lin. His mouth was more frowny than usual?_

_Her throat still stung and she couldn’t fight the urge to clear it any longer._  

_Bad idea. The other heads which had gloriously been focused on attending to her boss now swiveled back in her direction._

_“Is your throat bothering you Taniyama-san?” Lin questioned. Something about the way Lin asked the question was unsettling to Mai. It felt very weighted._  

_“Just a little parched. Someone dumped out all of my water.” She hoped the last bit would help steer the conversation back to Naru. The continued stares she received told her that was not going to work. Time to change her avoidance topic._

_“I’ll go make some tea—that should help. Does anyone else want some?”_  

_“Sit,” Lin told her._

_“I’ll only be a moment.”_

_“Sit, Mai.”_

_Mai plopped down in Naru’s chair, defeated._

 

Lin had almost taken Naru to the hospital again, but ended up deciding against it. It still seemed so odd, Lin had rushed Naru to the hospital both times this had happened before, but this time he decided against it.  Mai had considered arguing the point, but Naru’s color came back and she could feel the warmth return to his clammy skin as she wiped his brow. And he hadn’t stopped breathing this time. So she decided to leave it to Lin’s judgement.

Naru had had awoken only an hour or so later. Broodily stalking back to his office without even so much as a thank you for the tea she had proffered. Yes, he seemed to be _just_ fine.

That hadn’t answered any of Mai’s questions though. Why had he fainted? Overwork most likely. Really if his health was as delicate of a balance as Lin made it out to be, it was kind of amazing Naru didn’t lose consciousness more often.

Maybe Lin would know what had happened?

Lin knew something.

Getting the information out of him though. Maybe she should ask Gene next time she saw him. Talking about one of the twins to the other was always uncomfortable, but Gene really was her best, if not only, chance. 

Mai took a deep breath and looked back at the pile of files in her lap. Back to sorting.

“Yay,” she breathed unenthusiastically to the silent office.

She was reviewing the research notes that Yasuhara had gathered on the newest batch of possible cases.  Lin had already left his notes on them and so now it was up to her to determine which cases were flat out denied and which had to wait a little bit longer before Naru inevitably refused to take them. 

She placed the file on the left and larger of the piles, the “Dud pile” as she affectionately called it. Obvious hoaxes or people with unsubstantiated claims and over active imaginations. At least she didn’t have to be the one to call them back and tell them that they had been turned down.  That was what assistants were for and she was an investigator now.  Not that it got her an office or anything. She had used Lin’s office when he and Naru were back in England, but new title or not she had of course given back the office when she had heard of his imminent return. 

Madoka had mentioned asking Lin to share, but Mai politely declined. She didn’t think Lin would be very pleased with the concept. Madoka had just smirked at her and suggested she ask to share Naru’s office instead.  Yeah, right _._ Even if he had agreed she never would have been able to get any work done. Because he would annoy her so much, yep. With his bad attitude and intense eyes, like a cold still lake— Because it would be a bad idea and he never would have agreed to it in the first place.

Mai looked at the next file. Ignoring the traitorous heat that burned off of her cheeks.

Ongata hospital; electrical issues, voices, knocking sounds. Well, that was three of the poltergeist criteria at first glance. With the number of sick and dying it was no surprise a patient would turn up that was a poltergeist agent. With all the people passing away there was a high likelihood of an earthbound sprit as well.

Oh no! Now she sounded like Ayako.

Oh well, sorry Ongata hospital, you sound way to flashy and attention grabbing. There was no way Naru would take this one. Instead she wrote a note on the side reminding Yasuhara to mention that most poltergeist activity ended on its own as the patient causing it either got better or—

Mai considered for a moment. She crossed it out and wrote instead, ‘activity is often short lived as the agent may not remain at the hospital long term.’ Mai groaned, now she sounded like Naru. Well, _that_ was an utterly depressing thought. 

A loud noise broke the soft silence of the office causing Mai to nearly jump out of her skin. Files slid off her legs and she had to recover quickly to try to keep the Ongata paperwork from becoming the office’s newest carpet pattern.

Her heart was racing, her breath quick. _What was that?_  

She looked around the room. She did not appear to be under any form of immediate attack, paranormal or otherwise. Her brain attempted to reorganize itself after the shakeup. 

Her eyes landed on the dark wood of Naru’s office door. It had come from that direction, she was almost sure.  Had Naru just…yelled?  

Soft bored-sounding muffles had been escaping from his doorframe on occasion for a while now. Mai had decided that he must have been on the phone, or he had finally gone off the deep end. But as lovely as the second option sounded, it was most likely the first. 

Mai couldn’t think of a time she had ever heard Naru raise his voice in anger. The angrier Naru got the colder he got. Hot fits of rage weren’t exactly his style.

Maybe she had imagined it?

Lin’s office door popped open followed by the man himself.

He didn’t say anything, as per usual, but Lin’s mere appearance confirmed that she had not been mistaken.  

Lin joined Mai in turning his attention to Naru’s closed door as muffled shouts once again barreled through the otherwise silent office. 

It was almost loud enough she should be able to pick out words, but Mai could not figure out what Naru was saying.

Mai looked to Lin in search of some explanation for the behavior. Either consciously or unconsciously ignoring her, Lin kept his attention focused to Naru’s door. The best she could tell he had what passed for Lin’s version of inquisitive annoyance settling on his face.  No luck there, not that she was surprised. 

In the wake of the quick outbursts, tomblike silence once again engulfed the office. Mai wondered if she should press the matter. Perhaps even ask Lin what had happened. Though if he wasn’t willing to volunteer the information Lin was unlikely to tell her if she asked. Lin valued Naru’s privacy almost more than he did his own. So if he didn’t think it was something she needed to know she wasn’t going to be able to pry it out of him. 

They waited, neither of them speaking or moving. It had to have been at least a minute since Naru’s voice had become too low to hear anymore. Mai began to feel light headed and she realized that she had been holding her breath. She forced it out with a soft sigh. Willing her body to release the tension it had built up.

Mai almost lost her folder a second time as the sound of Naru opening the door made her jump higher than the first time. Lin shut his door. Abandoning Mai to face Naru’s residual wrath on her own. 

 _Coward,_ she thought, scowling. She would have to get him back for this later.

Mai felt a shiver as she looked at Naru. He just stood there, scanning the open area of the front office. The tightness of his jaw and the whiteness of his knuckles as he gripped the doorframe spoke of a wealth of emotions that the rest of him kept hidden. 

It made Mai sad. He was so upset, yet unwilling to admit it even to himself. She felt the urge to give him a hug. Tell him it was ok to be upset and that if he needed to talk to someone she was always there. 

His icy blue eyes locked onto her and she decided that perhaps now was not the time to press her attempt at friendship with Naru. _No,_ she told herself. _I choose life._  

“Mai?” Naru’s voice was strained, but she could tell he was making a marked effort to keep that from her.  He stood there, continuing to stare at her. 

Mai racked her brain, scrambling for; anything he might be upset with her about, something she could distract him with, or a functioning mouth as her current one seemed to have frozen shut.

Why was he just staring at her? If he was going to reprimand her he should just get it over with, the anticipation was killer.  _Damn you Lin! How could you leave me alone in here?_

“Mai,” He said more forcefully, his patience non-existent. 

What?! What did he want from her? What was wrong? What could he be waiting—?

“I am talking to you. People with functioning brains, they usually respond when addressed.”

Mai blinked, processing the insult. She decided that due to his agitated state she would let this one slide.

“Oh, yes, sorry. What is it, Naru? How can I help you?”

He visibly relaxed at Mai’s response. Was that all he had wanted? For her to respond?

Naru kept his gaze on Mai as if to ensure her mind didn’t begin to wander as he explained. “Yasuhara isn’t here right now so would you mind calling up and cancelling all of my appointments?”

Had he just asked her to do something? Not told, not demanded, _asked_? Was he _dying_?

“Oh yes, sure. Uh.” Mai looked down at the schedule book that was on the desk in front of her.  “Should I cancel the ones for the rest of the day or—”

“All of them.”

“All of them?” 

“Yes, Lin and I will be leaving for England at the end of the week and I won’t have time to meet with anyone before we go.”

Back to England? 

Oh no. Mai hoped nothing else had gone wrong with his family. Again she fought down the urge to ask if everything was alright. She wrote a note on the side of the page.

“And when will you be back? I will try to get some of them rescheduled for—”

 “Never.”

Mai nodded and started writing never in the margin of the page when her hand froze. 

“Never?”

“Yes, Lin and I will not be returning to Japan.”

Mai’s stomach dropped. She tried to pull her eyes up to meet his. To see the joke, the joke that he was playing on her now. She couldn’t do it. Her eyes felt like lead weights in their sockets.

“Effective a week from today I will be resigning as the manager of the Japanese branch of the SPR,” Naru finished.  Mai stopped trying to look up. She knew what she would see and she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Mai identified the fact that her mouth was moving, but she had no idea what it could be saying as her brain kept skipping on the word _resigning_. Resigning, leaving, will not be returning. Where was he going? Why? What? What would she do? Where would she work?

Wait, _resigning_? They were not closing then? He was just leaving, but SPR would stay open?

But he was leaving?

 _What_? What on earth had that phone call been about?

“Have enough of your brain cells died that you now lack the ability to generate sound when you speak?” Naru drawled.

Mai’s mouth snapped shut. The beginnings of anger shattering the recall loop she had been stuck in.

“I can make the calls, but you better explain--” She started, her anger overpowering her fear just enough that she brought her eyes up ready to get some answers.

“Thank you.” He said turning away before their eyes could meet and marching straight back into his office. Shutting the door between them, again.

The rest of Mai’s words turned to ash in her mouth.

_What was happening?_

She needed to get answers and she would get them, before Naru ran off a second time.

* * *

 

Edited: 10/15/16

 


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-Oliver

 

Oliver took another handful of the black notebooks off of the shelf and placed them inside the suitcase at his feet. Binding side up, the notebooks gave the inside of the suitcase an oddly stair stepped appearance. _Stairs to where_? he wondered before shaking his head at the absurd thought.

A soft knock announced Mai and a fresh cup of tea’s arrival into his office.  The brighter light of the outer office cast her features in shadow as she stepped into the dimly lit room. He watched as she carefully sidestepped around the boxes that represented the culmination of a year and a half of paranormal research in Japan. 

 _Two of the same face._  His mind raced as he watched her weave her way through his maze of research.

Oliver made sure to look away from her face before his eyes fully readjusted and he could see that strange look she had been giving him for the past week once again. 

_One has a good personality and one has a poor personality. Which one would you choose?_

Instead he watched as she very delicately set the porcelain down, careful not to disturb the papers which littered the top of the wood. 

 _I guess, I would pick_ _the one with the good personality._

She picked up his flight itinerary and looked it over briefly.

 _Exactly._  

He looked down at the half filled suitcase and mentally kicked himself for letting his mind wander. That conversation was nearly six months old, and more importantly had been of no consequence whatsoever. 

Turning back to the bookshelf, he shook his head and reached for another stack of notebooks only to find a small hand already reaching out for them. He looked at her face for the first time since she entered the room. She met him with a small smile, her ‘I don’t want you to know I’m upset’ smile. For some reason he felt trapped. He hadn’t been avoiding Mai for the past nine days, but he also hadn’t found any moments that required they be so close either. 

The realization that he may have been connected to Mai’s dreams had unsettled him more than he thought it would. This was clearly because he had allowed himself to ignore the possibility of the connection. He was a fool not to have recognized how similar their visions had become of late. 

Mai’s connection to Gene, it had thrown him off. He felt so stupid, why hadn’t he put it together sooner? Their abilities were so similar that Mai was an excellent choice for Gene to use to reach him. Why hadn’t Gene ever actually used her to try to reach him then? Why were Mai’s dreams now feeding from his own and not from Gene, or her own gift? Why hadn’t Gene moved on yet? What portion of her abilities were her own and which had been amplified and molded by his brother for some unknown purpose?

There were still so many questions. He needed more time.

“You should really let me do this for you, Naru,” Mai said as she stared at him with that false smile. “I’m sure you have more important things to do to before you leave.” 

It was so strange, it was almost like she looked through him. 

He wondered if it was a lingering side effect of the vison. She had been quiet for a few days after, but she at least appeared to have recovered quickly. He knew she had experienced visions of death before. However, this was most likely her first experience of the more heinous events that could occur before death. He remembered the first time he had a vision featuring sexual assault. 

Gene had pulled him out as quickly as he realized what was happening. Oliver had promptly gotten sick all over the couch. He had been thirteen, and he had only drawn away from his peers even more after that. 

Only a few months away from university, he was already the odd duck. Too advanced to spend much time among his own age group, but too young and disinterested to interact with his classmates. The vision left him with an irrational fear of the other, so much larger, boys in his classes.

He now understood this to be related to the emotional transfer of the vision.  The teasing was nothing new, but the fear that the taunts provoked in him during those two weeks still held him nearly paralyzed almost five years later. 

It reached ridiculous levels, culminating with Gene being called up to help when Oliver had locked himself in the groundskeeper’s shed. Gene had coaxed him out promising to sit in for him in the worst of the classes.

After that he had worked on differentiating himself from the feelings of the visions. It proved to be no easy task, but his rational nature lent itself to the process. He worried similar strategies would prove too difficult for someone like Mai. 

“I think ensuring my research is properly packed before I leave _is_ important,” he told her. The smile that didn’t reach her eyes fell from her face and was replaced with an equally unfelt scowl. 

“I know how to stack books, Naru.” She placed her hands on her hips. 

“I wouldn’t presume…” he chided; baiting her was sure to improve his mood. 

Mai’s face fell, but she took a deep breath and was smiling at him again. Perhaps she was better at controlling her emotions than he thought. 

“Go drink your tea, you idiot scientist,” she gently mocked. 

His amusement vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Mai nearly jumped as she realized she had just called Naru by the nickname his late brother had used for him. Her hands clasped together in front of her mouth. 

“I’m sorry Naru, I didn’t mean—” she apologized, bowing. 

Oliver put up a hand to silence her and walked stiffly past Mai to his desk.

It wasn’t until he felt the warmth of the china on his own lips that he realized he had done exactly as she had told him to. He willed himself not to shatter the fragile china in his hand. It wasn’t the tea’s fault. Furious with himself, he finished the cup, because _he_ wanted to. 

His tongue deserved the scalding the hot liquid left. Perhaps the discomfort of it would clear whatever it was that had been clouding his mind these past few minutes. 

“Is there anything else you need packed?” Mai was smiling again, though now it was clearly an attempt to change the subject.

He didn’t deign to answer. Instead he placed the now empty tea cup down and turned away from her to make a show of looking at some of the papers on his desk. 

He should talk to her about the vision. She needed someone to talk to about it. If not an expert per se, he was at least someone who had experienced what she had. He knew how to cope, he could teach her. 

Every time he thought to say something the images of the vision came back. And he found that he couldn’t bring himself to make her relive them.

Which was ridiculous of course because the whole point was to acknowledge the experience so she could distance herself from it.  If she was going to continue to have these dreams she was bound to have others of its ilk or even much much worse. Seeing that level of human suffering didn’t really get better with time. That was the unpleasant truth of the ‘gift’. And that was why he had vowed to do everything he could to prevent her from seeing them in the first place.

“I saw you don’t leave till tomorrow afternoon, I was thinking...” She started.

He didn’t look up from whatever it was that he was pretending to read, but a small smirk did flit across his face. Mai was good for a number of things, making tea not the least of those. But of her numerous talents the one thing she _excelled_ at was providing him with opportunities to provoke her.

“Trying something new today are we?” he interjected smugly, pleased to play his part in their regular tête-à-tête and to have his own dark thoughts brushed from his mind, however briefly. 

“Ha, hilarious.” Mai rolled her eyes. “I was thinking…” she paused, waiting for his next snide remark. It would be dreadfully rude to disappoint her. 

“Should I give you a ribbon?” He asked in his most condescending deadpan. He couldn’t resist looking over his shoulder at her now. And Takigawa said he was no fun. He could have fun when the occasion presented itself.  

She groaned, but he was quite sure he could see the smallest curl of a real smile on her lips. 

“Yes, yes, are you done for now?” she asked impatiently. She was doing a decent job of hiding the smile, but it reflected in her eyes.

Oliver frowned. No one would be able to teach her how to distance herself from emotions. It just wasn’t in her nature.

He stared back unmoving, she should know by now that she could not outwait him. 

“Thinking that we should have a going away party, like last time you left.” The request tumbled out of her before he could attempt to overlap her. “I mean especially since you are leaving for, probably, ever.” 

Oliver resisted the urge to sigh. He should have known that was what would come next. He turned his head and stared at the wood grain beneath his fingertips again. He actually considered rolling his eyes, she wouldn’t be able to see it from this angle. Would she?

Social gatherings were such wastes of time. Not to mention extremely uncomfortable. They generally ended with everyone else disappointed with him for his lack of ‘participation’. He was there, was he not? 

“You know I am not interested in sentimentality, Mai.” He turned to face her once again, drawing up to his full height and crossing his arms to signal his displeasure with the turn in the conversation. 

Mai’s fists clenched and she made a sound that might have been a growl. Brown challenged blue as she glared into his eyes. Despite her barely coming to his shoulders, intimidation was not a tactic that often worked on Mai. He would have to try another methodology.

She seemed to wrestle with what she wanted to say. He decided that if she started talking about his ‘social responsibilities’ they were done with this conversation.

Leaning against the desk Oliver took a deep, vested, interest in a spot on the wall just above Mai’s shoulder. This approach was one of the more effect when it came to messing with Mai. The less interested he appeared, the more flustered she would get, and maybe she would give up. 

“It isn’t always about you, narcissist.” Her voice an octave higher than it had been a moment earlier. What should he go for next? _A foot stomp?_ He could probably get a foot stomp.

“You said it was a party for my leaving, I fail to see how it is not about me.” He dragged his eyes back to hers. A yawn? No, that would be too much, too obvious. 

“It’s just not!” she yelled, her foot crashing to the carpet in emphasis. She caught herself, once again bringing a hand to her mouth as if she could pull back the forcefulness of her tone.

 _Don’t_ smile, he reminded himself. Though it was so hard not to. 

He would miss these moments. No one in England played the game as well as Mai did. Not anymore. Not since—

They really were so very similar. It was no wonder that Mai had fallen for Gene.

Oliver could see his brother wrapping Mai in an over-the-top hug exclaiming that they were ‘two peas in a paranormal pod’. That ridiculous grin would be plastered all over Gene’s face as they embraced. _Idiot._ Mai would have an equally ridiculous smile on her own face. _Idiots._ The image did not improve his own spirits. He did not like his mind so easily crafting memories of Gene and Mai. The two had never actually met, creating memories of them together made no sense.   _Idiot_ , he admonished himself.

He shrugged in response to her original request. Her expression explained that would not be adequate.

 “Suit yourselves.” He provided. If she insisted on these ridiculous social calls then so be it. It would be the last one he would have to endure anyway.

Gene would have loved it. 

He pushed himself away from the desk and headed back to the bookshelf. If he was going to have to waste his time at some idiotic social event he should get back to packing. He noticed a strange contented look on her face as he passed her. _What was she smiling about?_  

He had just taken hold of another handful of his notebooks, when she once again interrupted him. All of these delays were starting to grate on his ample patience.

“Just leave those, Naru. I’ll pack them for you.” 

“You are not my assistant any more, Mai.” Oliver blanched at the forcefulness of his response.  He nearly sounded petulant. Truly though, he had no qualms with her no longer being his assistant. The point was that she had other things she should be doing now and he had an office to clean out.

“You have your own cases to be evaluating. I suggest you try focusing on your work, for once,” he clarified, refusing to look at her and encourage her attempts at stifling his progress. Instead he turned away from her, placed the books in the suitcase, and returned to the shelf grabbing a new handful. 

“That doesn’t mean I can’t help you out before you go away for, probably, ever.”

Oliver sighed and she smiled. They both knew she had won.

“Look, there are a few potential case files on my desk. I would really appreciate your opinion on them before you go,” she prompted, almost pouted.  “I mean this is my last chance to get the expert opinion on which cases are worth taking from the great Oliver Davis.” 

Oliver felt his scowl deepen.

Mai looked concerned, but it passed. Instead she stared at him, holding out her hand palm up for the books the other drumming her fingers on her hip. There was no talking to her when she got like this.

Further proof that she was a creature of emotion. It was impossible to picture her in any other way. Even _he_ wouldn’t be able to teach her to control her emotions. So, he would just have to fix the problem from the other side. 

By removing the source of the visions. 

He stared at the leather bound notebooks, still reluctant to pass them off. 

 _For. Probably. Ever._  

It was true though, he had no reason to ever return to Japan. SPR would be well cared for; Madoka would resume her role of interim manager until a suitable replacement could be trained and transplanted from the main branch in London. So his business, his sole continuing reason for remaining in this eastern archipelago, was squared away. 

There wasn’t anything here that he couldn’t get back in England. He meant, back home. In fact, there were several extremely important things that he could only access or accomplish back home.

Back home he could return to Cambridge and complete his doctorate. His dissertation committee was getting restless. Martin was right: PhDs do not finish themselves. His commitment to advancing the scientific study of the paranormal required that he compile his research and complete his thesis. Even if the connections between extraordinary abilities, paranormal phenomenon, and religious ideology were so obvious that even Mai would be able to recognize them. 

Back home he would have the tools and opportunity to continue proper research. Once he defended and was awarded his degree he would have the full resources of the main branch of the Society for Paranormal Research at his disposal. From there he would be able to ensure that science ruled in the top sphere of paranormal research.

No longer would they be questioned as charlatans. Cases would face rigorous validity requirements and those found to be of legitimate origin would be investigated. Any research conducted would be handled under the most stringent of requirements. With strict adherence to proper documentation styles and research methodology. 

Back home—

Oliver almost jumped as small hands came precariously close to his own, reaching for the dark tomes they held. Shaken from his trance, he looked up to remind himself who these intruding appendages belonged to.

Mai gave him a small smile as she closed the gap between their fingers. She kept smiling at him, so how was it that she seemed sad instead? It reminded him unpleasantly of Luella’s face when she had arrived in Japan to collect Gene’s body.

Gene would have known what it meant. 

Wrapping her hands around the notebooks, careful to avoid touching him, Mai gave a small tug to remind him of her purpose. He stared at her. There had to be some social cue here that he was failing to pick up on. 

Gene would have known what to say. Gene always knew what to say.

It should have been Gene she met and not him. Gene would have understood Mai and even comforted her if that was necessary. 

Gene should have come back home and Oliver should never have had to come here. Instead he lost the only person who was worth a damn as well as nearly two years of his life to this place. Now in less than two days he would be in England. Picking up the pieces of what remained of his life before he came here. Mai gave a second tug, her sad smile reinforcing her silent request. He forgot himself and looked once again into her eyes. Why did she have to keep smiling like that?

In England, it rained all the time and the winters were colder than they had been here. Despite what many had jokingly referred to as his icy demeanor Oliver was not a fan of the cold.

In England, there would be no more field work, at least not for a while. Just writing and study; board meetings and social calls with patrons. No Naru leading a qualified team to discover the mysteries of eastern paranormal interactions. Only Oliver Davis fighting the small minded, and self-important research community in a stifled attempt at progress.

In England, there was a permanently empty room across the hall from his own. 

“Come on, Naru.” Mai’s voice spoke of a confidence and ease her eyes couldn’t reflect.

“I put a tray on my desk with an empty cup, a fresh pot of tea, and some cream for you as you look through the files.” She flashed that almost-smile at him again. 

Had she said tea?  

Quite right, too.  He was feeling a bit parched. 

Well, when he was gone there wouldn’t be anyone as qualified to determine cases. It really was the least he could do to provide them with his opinion on these last few potential cases. 

He let go his grip on the volumes and turned to leave the room.

“Really, Mai. What will you do without me here?” he asked over his shoulder as he left her to her work. 

Somewhat surprisingly, Mai didn’t answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Edited 12/27/16


	4. Chapter 3

# Chapter 3- Mai

 

The next morning Mai stood alone in the hollowed-out office space that effectively served as her second home and ignored the silent tears that slid down her face. 

_This isn’t about that narcissist_ , she told herself again. It was about all of it. The work, the people—no the _family_ she had built up for herself in her time at the SPR.  It had given her purpose.  It had taken a while before she felt like she could actually contribute, but she had felt like SPR was where she belonged even before her latent psychic abilities had really begun to manifest.

Now what did all that time, effort, and love amount to?  Eight cardboard boxes and three suitcases piled up by the front door to the office. 

She placed the ninth box against the wall along with its identical siblings.  Boxes full of black books. Naru’s case notes.  She tried to believe that she was not handling them with the reverence of a worshiper, but she knew otherwise. It wasn’t because they were his though. 

It was because they were hers. 

These books were the meticulous notations of her life since she came to the SPR. These cases, the people and events notated so clinically within these pages—they were hers. She opened one of the books and stared at the illegible script that dared her to decipher it. 

Mai had wondered more than once why Naru had chosen to keep his notes in English.  Of course since they had found Gene about six months ago it made perfect sense. Why would he keep notes in anything but his native language, especially when it had provided him with the added benefit of causing the contents to be illegible to most of those who surrounded him. Comfort and security all rolled into one. So efficient. 

So Naru. 

Naru, with his brisk words and beautiful scowls. _And that didn’t mean anything!_ It was practically a statement of fact that the man was beautiful. One that the narcissist would often express himself. The fact that even his scowls were beautiful made them all the more maddening. How could something that appeared so lovely be so bitter? 

While it was true that he infuriated her almost constantly his taunts also seemed to light a fire in her. A passion to grow and try to accomplish things that Mai hadn’t felt before. 

She had wanted to get better at everything, just to prove him wrong.  

He was her sick version of a motivational speaker. Mai had always felt that if she could just get to some unknown mark then he would have opened up. Naru had been one of the people to teach her to trust her intuition and her intuition told her that he had a good soul. He had just done his best to close himself off from the rest of the world.

She wiped her face clean and again turned to surveying her efforts. _Just one box to go, I can do this._  

“If you are done daydreaming Mai, those boxes are not going to pack themselves,” a condescending tone offered from the dark office behind her. 

Mai shook herself out of her reverie and scowled. _Closed off and barricaded._

“I have a plane to catch in a few hours, Mai. I expect the office to be squared away before I make my departure. If you feel you are inadequate for the task...” The voice continued. 

“I know how to pack a damn box, you narcissist. I already packed eight of them by myself!” she shot back. If Naru was going to insult her he could at least get up from his desk and come into the same room as her to do it. 

“No one is questioning your abilities to fill a box, Mai. Merely your mental capacity to work a task until completion.”

Why did he have to keep saying her name?

Her first name, with no honorifics; to be so familiar with her, it gave her name an intimate quality and even though she knew it really didn’t mean anything she used to smile at the unspoken potential her name had held on his lips. Now it was a constant reminder of the rift between them. Still so intimate, and yet instead of thrilling her, that intimacy mocked her. 

Six months ago he had so easily tossed aside her feelings. Which he had not only rejected, but corrected her on.

Not surprisingly, he didn’t even believe in her ability to interpret her own feelings accurately. _Let me explain your own feelings so that even you can understand_. _Clearly, your little brain has just projected your feelings for Gene onto me. While unfortunate it really is not that surprising considering how dumb you are._  

Mai clenched her fists. At least she wasn’t likely to start crying about his leaving again. _No Mai, you can’t have feelings for me, because I didn’t say you had any such feelings and my word is law. Meh, meh, I’m Naru, I know everything and everyone else is dumb._  

Well he hadn’t said it exactly like that, but of course leave it to Naru to analyze, scrutinize, and categorize someone else’s feelings in the blink of an eye.  Weighed, measured, and found wanting. It was a succinct if unpleasant way to sum up his approach to her and the rest of the world. But that discussion six months ago wasn’t what bothered her now. She had gotten over that ages ago. Really, she had. 

No, this was a much more recent grievance.

Ignoring the grump in the other room she walked over to their small kitchenette and grabbed the kettle off its base.   She reached into the cupboard and pulled out the distilled water jug to fill the kettle. 

Things seemed to be going well of late. Naru and Lin seemed to be settling back into the office. Naru was turning away 90% of the cases. She would say things were getting back to what it was like before he had returned home to bury Gene, but truthfully they seemed slightly better. It felt like they had just started to settle into their new routine and suddenly he was leaving again.

With only a week’s notice, possibly never to return, and with no explanation. Who does that? Well, she _knew_ who. But that didn’t make it alright. 

She attempted to not punch down the tab to start off the electric kettle. Just thinking about that day made her angry.  What had happened in his office? Why was he leaving so abruptly? She had vowed to get answers before he left.

But she hadn’t gotten answers, at least not really. After that interaction Naru seemed to fade away. He didn’t seem to be speaking to anyone, even Lin. He was either always at his desk, no surprise there, or out of the office running the necessary errands it took to prepare to move out of a county with only a week’s notice. 

The only times she saw him was when she came into the office with a fresh cup of tea. Even then he had stopped asking for them in the last few months.

Mai opened up the jar of loose tea on the counter and measured out a teaspoon of the leaves and tapped them gently into the basket of the infuser.  

More often than not he hadn’t even stepped out for lunch. So she would run to the shop at the end of the street and pick up some veggie sushi rolls or a croissant from the bakery below them. She always kept it small. She had noticed in the past that if she slipped in some small bit of nourishment with his tea service he would take it without complaint.

The sound of boiling increased and the kettle culminated its work. Not with a shriek, but with a sturdy click. 

Once though she had made the mistake of taking it upon herself to add nearly a full meal to his habitual tea. His disapproval with her, 'coddling him', was quick and decisive. Not only did he refuse to eat the food, but he made a point of dumping it in the trash in the main office where she could see him do it.

So she brought him his tea, before he asked for it now. Because it was the only excuse she had to enter the room and if she was going to get some answers that was where she was going to get them.

She had such plans for when she walked it to that office. 

She would pump herself up to really let him have it, just lay into him. Why was he going? What was going on? Who would run the office? Would he really _never_ be back? That had to be an exaggeration, right? Naru wasn’t really one for exaggeration. Would he be interested in keeping in touch? No. That was a dumb question.  What had happened? Was someone hurt? His parents?

 Reaching back into the cupboard she pulled down a black and red box of shortbread tea biscuits. The first two she pulled from the package were cracked so she placed them to the side for herself later. Placing two whole biscuits on the plate she briefly considered adding a third, _probably best not to push it._

But crossing the threshold to that office always murdered her bravado.

She would see Naru sitting there buried in papers, head propped on his hand, and fingers gripping the dark strands of his hair in a fist that made it seem amazing he had any hair left. 

And she couldn’t do it.   

He looked miserable, more miserable than he had ever let anyone see anyway. She knew he wasn’t eating and he probably wasn’t sleeping either. Though once she thought she had noticed a bit of the outer office’s blue blanket, which had mysteriously disappeared after the excitement the other day, peeking out from under his desk. 

Whatever was going on Naru was not pleased with the situation and she didn’t want to add to his stress. So, she put on a smile and made herself available for whatever he might need.

It was really the least she could do. He had been the reason she had this job and in turn found her second family. She owed him so much more than her paychecks’ worth. 

Then yesterday happened.

They had been getting along really well, or at least as well as could be expected when the two of them we left together to try to have a ‘conversation’. She had gotten him to agree to a going away party. The foot stomp and self-recoil, they worked every time. She had to work very hard to not let her amusement show. 

She had even gotten him out of his gloomy office so he could think about something other than his impending trip. She was fine, really. She was happy to help him with his packing. Happy to be of service.

Then he had to make that last little barb before he left the office.

_“Really Mai what will you do without me here?”_

It was a statement spoken to tease, but it had left Mai staring speechless at the empty space he had so recently occupied. And it had been ringing in her head all day as she packed up every trace of their time together.

_He had left before and it was fine._ She reminded herself, not for the first or twentieth time. _Last time he was coming back._ Her disloyal mind responded. Last time he had left her reeling with the truth about ‘dream Naru’ and the mess that made of her own feelings.

She had been so discombobulated that she accepted his explanation without a second thought.

Now she realized it had all been ridiculous. Especially since, in all her obsessing she felt like she barely knew anything about Naru. The Gene revelation a strong case in point.

And Gene, she hadn’t even realized he was a different person.

She couldn’t believe that he wasn’t upset with her. Brothers or not she couldn’t image it was a good feeling to be mistaken for Naru. _Though maybe he was used to it?_

In hindsight she knew that wishing Naru to be someone else so he could fit some romantic ideal was unfair to Naru and to herself.  She might have been in some kind of puppy love with a false construct, but she could certainly care for the real thing.

He was so closed off and she felt that it was up to her to remind him what it meant to live, if he had ever really known in the first place.Mai had made it her mission, now that she had cleared away her rose tinted view, to be a good friend to Naru and try to get to know him for who he really was. She felt like Gene would want her to try to get his stoic brother to open up a bit. She also felt like she owed it to Gene.

And that, if she was being honest with herself was what was really bothering her. In the brief time that she had known him, Gene had been a great teacher and an even better friend. He had been patient and kind as she stumbled her way through recognizing and navigating her abilities in the astral plane.

Gene and Naru, each in their own ways, had taken care of her. They had provided her with a steady base to stand on and someone to stand next to. It had been a long time since Mai had felt safe and secure like she did with them. And now they were about to leave her, too.

She hadn’t heard from him since Midori’s case and she was still unnerved to think that he hadn’t moved on. Naru said that sticking around could only be damaging to a sprit. She didn’t want to think that Gene’s concern over Naru would cause him to deteriorate into some form of tormented soul to suffer for eternity. She had hoped that getting Naru to open up a bit might help Gene as well, but now Naru was leaving again and she would never be able to save either of them. 

_I’m sorry Gene. I didn’t have enough time. What should I do?_  She didn’t expect a response, but she wanted one, she wanted one so badly. She turned her eyes from the counter to the ceiling willing the emotions down. She had told him she would help, she needed to help. She couldn’t fail him again.

Having steeped for the appropriate four and a half minutes Mai lifted the infuser basket from the cup and dumped the used leaves in the waste. Bending over to their small refrigerator she pulled out the milk and added the proper splash of cream. Watching as the dark liquid swirled with white and then phased into a beautiful golden hue.

Tea complete, she grabbed it and it's accompanying treat and braced herself for one of her last ever interactions with Naru. She would make these final memories pleasant. Even if she had to strangle him to do it.

_This is it. Now or never. I’ve got to ask. Woman up, Mai._

Passing through the doorway Mai stopped briefly as her eyes adjusted to the lower light of Naru's office and was met with a very familiar sight. Naru was hunched over a large stack of paper both hands holding onto his hair like the edge of a cliff.

_Dual fisted, must be a particularly perplexing problem._

Like clockwork her mind skipped and she was looking to once again speak to him about anything other than his impending departure.

Placing the tea down gently on the desk she attempted to see what was causing the double attack on his scalp. No luck, it was in English and a really tiny font at that. The stack had to be at least four inches thick. Whatever it was it was daunting to say the least.

Naru seemed to use his hands to pull his head up and look at Mai. Whether he had just noticed her or was just finally deciding to acknowledge her presence she couldn’t tell from the blank look he gave her. 

“What is that?” She asked and she could see his gears turning as he attempted to figure out what ‘that’ she could be referring to. Taking advantage of his distracted state she silently slid the plate of biscuits closer to his tea. As a second step in hiding her biscuit maneuver she deliberately called attention to the area without acknowledging them.

“I brought you some tea.” She gestured at the small cup and attending plate. Working for Naru had certainly taught her how to be sneakier.

He still didn’t respond, but released his death grip and reached for the liquid. After the smallest hesitation he grabbed a biscuit as well.

He had nearly brought her distraction to his lips when she blurted out.

“It might be the last cup I ever get to make you.”

The porcelain stopped and after a moment instead of continuing was returned to its saucer, the biscuit placed back next to its twin, and Naru turned his attention back to the pile in front of him.

Why had she said something? Why couldn’t she just have kept her mouth shut? She was clearly annoying him. He probably found her sentimentality over his leaving to be 'extremely vexing'.

Mai briefly looked over her shoulder at the bright light of the doorway.  Just a quick reminder from her cowardly self that she could always just bolt. He was leaving in less than two hours and if she ran away now she could just not come back until after he left. _Stop it!_ She chided herself. You’ve faced yokai, curses, and angry spirits you can handle one grumpy teenage boy.

“Sooo, what is it?” He tilted his head up just enough to glance at her. The indigent question of ‘what is what?’ unspoken, but very clear. “Those papers you’re looking at what are they?”

Naru’s head and gaze moved incrementally downward and back to his work. Mai once more thought about the door and running. _No,_ she thought, _no, he doesn’t get to make me uncomfortable anymore. I am staying until I get what I want. And right now I want… that biscuit._ She reached for one of the biscuits on the plate and without a second thought dunked it briefly in the tea before bringing it to her own waiting mouth.

“That was my biscuit.” He told her their eyes meeting once more. “And my tea.”

Well he was acknowledging her now that was for damn sure.

“You didn’t seem to want them.” She reminded him.

“Did I say I didn’t want them?”

“Didn’t really say much of anything. So I figured you didn’t want them.”

Their staring contest lasted a few moments more, and Mai started to get worried that he might be legitimately upset with her when he finally broke the silence.

“It’s my dissertation.”

“Oh, wow. That’s huge. Remind me not to get a doctorate.” Mai could feel the joke fall flat. And enter insult now-

“If you spend years gathering data on one specific topic I think even you could write one.”  _Well that was actually kind of a complement, maybe?_ “If you could actually muster the attention span to focus on something for longer than five minutes.” _There it was._

Mai smiled in response. That was weak. She could see that even he knew it. What was going on with him?

“So do you just have to turn this in and poof you’ve got a PhD?” She asked in an attempt to keep him talking.

“This is just a preliminary draft I still have a lot of research to do. Once I am done though, I present it to my defense committee and they will determine its validity. If they approve it I will be awarded my degree, yes.”

“You mean you could do all that work and then they could tell you no!” Mai was shocked, that sounded awful.

“I suppose in theory...”  Naru trailed off as Mai once again dunked her biscuit in his tea and popped what remained of the moistened morsel in her mouth.

“That sounds awful.”  Mai mused over the biscuit as she took a seat on the front edge of his desk.

“Indeed.” Naru replied his own mouth turned down in displeasure.

Suddenly it hit Mai. _This is why he is going back!_ Something must be happening with his degree. What if this committee was threatening not to give it to him? What if being in Japan was keeping him from his studies and his real work. Maybe, he was nervous about it. Great Oliver Davis or not, getting judged on something you had spent so much time on had to be nerve wracking.

 “You’ll be great.” She smiled at him.

"Naturally." He responded looking back over the papers in front of him.

It wasn’t that he didn’t sound confident, Naru always sounded obnoxiously confident, but Mai somehow _felt_ the falseness of his statement. Something in her gut just screamed that he was lying.

“It’s ok to be nervous.” She reassured him.

“Who’s nervous Mai? I won’t even have my defense for another couple of months. _If_ my research goes well. There is nothing to be nervous about.” He picked up his tea and Mai was drawn to the small waves that lapped within the porcelain barrier as he brought it to his lips. _Not nervous my ass._

“Sure.” She told him as she took another glance around the hollowed out room. That earned her a glare, and she couldn’t help but smile in response.

Focused on his mounting annoyance Naru nearly missed the saucer as he brought the cup back to the desk and Mai had to practically dive forward to catch his wrist before he covered his hard work in tea.

She looked to her left ready to apologize for lunging at him, even if she had been trying to save his work, when she saw what she could only describe as a grimace on his face. _Oh no!_ What had she done now? She glanced quickly back at his hand, which along with the liquid gold it held was cupped between her own two hands. It didn’t look like she was twisting his wrist or anything like that.

  _Its ok, you are going to be fine._ Now if only she had the courage to say those words out loud, though to herself or Naru she wasn’t quite sure.

“Naru are you… ok?”

He blinked, shock clearly written all over his face. No masking. No emotionless façade.

“I…” he paused and blinked a few more times as if scrolling through a checklist within his mind. “I am?” The last part seemed more of a question than an answer.

She slid her hands apart slowly using them to guide his own back to the table. She refused to take her eyes off of his face now. It was like a brand new face. She was afraid that if she looked away or even blinked it would be gone and she would never see it again.

“Mai, what have I told you about staring-”

“It’s ok to be nervous.”

He sighed, Mai blinked, and the old face was back. Mai felt like sighing too.

“I’m not-“

“Sure.”

“I’m not very nervous.” He admitted softly.

She smiled. That was a good first step to breaking down those icy walls. _Too bad I won’t get to help him after this._ Her smile dropped.  If only there was something she could do to cheer him on even from afar.  Some kind of token to remind him that someone, other than himself, believed in him.  Then it hit her. _Yes! Yes, that’s it!_

“Close your eyes and hold out your hand.” Mai commanded.

“Absolutely not.” He met her stare for stare.

“Naru.” She whined. “Come on, this will be the last time I will ever bother you, just hold out your hand.”

“Somehow I doubt a future free from your meddling.”

“Do you think you’ll come back to SPR?” She asked hoping she didn’t sound as eager as she thought she did.

“No.” His voice was even flatter if that was possible.

“Then I…” she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter anyway, just do it. Hand.” She waggled her own at him in some awkward attempt at indicating how to do the motion. “Give me your hand idiot—.” She stopped herself before she could finish that thought. Bad enough if she called him an idiot.

“You are extremely stubborn, you know that right.” He informed her as he lifted his hand palm up between them.

Mai’s smile broadened. “Yep. Now close your eyes.”

“Mai.” He warned her.

She rolled her eyes dramatically and proceeded to reach back into her own pocket, before eyeing him askance. “I would appeal to your better nature, but I am not sure you have one.”

It was his turn to roll his eyes at her absurdity, but once they were firmly fixed back on her he took a deep breath and allowed their lids to slide closed.

“Thank you.” Mai whispered. Trust was not one of Naru’s most abundant traits and she was truly thankful that he did provide her with some small portion of what he had to give.

Mai tried to hide the jolt she felt within herself as she took his hand in her own. Now was _not_ the time to get distracted by how warm the back of his hand felt in her palm. 

She brought her other hand from behind her back and quickly transferred her gift into his waiting palm.

She watched as once again his mouth turn downward. She wrapped her hands tighter around his own curling his fingers around the metal. _We’re going to be ok._

She didn’t know why she thought it. Of course they were ok, neither of them were in any danger. But for some reason as she closed her family’s key in his hand she felt like it needed to be said. Even if he still couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.

“It’s for luck.” She told him aloud. His eyes opened and their gaze held her own.

“I don’t believe in luck.”

“I do,” She swallowed. The rest of her thought pouring out of her before she could safely call it back in. “and I believe in you, so take it. Even though I know you don’t need it. You can throw it out as soon as you get to England, but please just, take it.”

He uncurled his palm and looked at the key for the first time. Then he kept looking at it. Mai held her breath. He didn’t say anything, but slowly, so slowly, he curled his fingers closed once again.

“There may be hope for you yet.” Mai beamed at him as she hopped down from the desk and made a quick exit out of the room. All the while praying that he didn’t notice just how quickly she felt the need to put space between them or how her face probably could have acted as a stop light at the moment.

Back in the safety of the kitchenette she rested her forehead on the counter in an attempt to cool her fevered face. Why had she said _that_? She had planned to just tell him he had to take it or else. _Way to not make it weird Mai._ She bounced her forehead on the counter. _Uuuggghhhh._

“Mai?” Mai felt the blood flow to her face increase as she heard Naru’s inquiring call.  Had he followed her out here? Even someone as socially inept as Naru should have recognized how awkward those last few moments had been.

Well it would only get worse if she made him wait. At least now he sounded semi-congenial. Odd for him actually. She looked around the kitchenette’s wall to see him standing by her desk. His call had sounded thoroughly confused which gave a softer quality to his voice than she was used to hearing. It reminded her more of-

He smiled at her.

Her breath caught and she froze.

“Thank you.” He said still smiling at her.

“Gene.” She breathed.

His smiled broadened. “Hey you’re getting better at this.”

She waited, feeling her heart rate slowly began to drop back down to a semi-normal level after the initial shock of not only seeing Naru’s brother, but seeing him outside of the dream state.

“What are you doing here?” Mai asked still managing only a whisper.

“I thought that would be obvious. I wanted to say thank you. And goodbye. Again. Since I could this time.”

“Thank you? For what? I didn’t-.”

“For taking care of that idiot scientist of course.” He walked towards the frozen girl and through her desk in the process. Mai grimaced at the obvious reminder that this was not a ‘normal’ conversation while Gene didn’t even seem to notice.

“He will never say it, but for him and for me, thank you Mai. You really are brilliant.” He stopped just a foot or so from her. She looked up into his dark blue eyes that were identical and yet completely different from the pair that she had been staring at not five minutes earlier.

She wanted to be excited to see him but right now all he did was remind her of the promises she had failed to keep. She turned her head away, right now she didn’t want to see the kindness and caring that those blue eyes could hold. She was much more in the mood for the condemnation and miffed look that their twins typically held.

“Please don’t, I didn’t…, I couldn’t even help....” She stared at the floor and willed her traitorous body not to start crying again.

“Mai, Mai, please don’t cry.” Gene attempted to comfort her, but being non-corporeal was making things much more difficult.

“Mai, what is that matter with you? Who are you talking to?” A slightly deeper version of that same voice asked causing her head to shoot back up.

Naru, and it was definitely him this time as no one could pull off apathetic like Naru, stood in the doorway to his office.

Mai could only watch as Gene casually strode up to his brother until the two were standing side by side.

“Hey little brother.” Gene greeted, but received no response from his twin. Mai realized that Naru must not be aware of his brother’s presence here.  “I didn’t realize how much you had grown. Look Mai, my widdle scientist is all grown up.” Gene continued as he put his hand on the top of his own head and moved it out towards Naru where it only met with his nose.

Gene sighed, obviously displeased with the apparent differences between them. Two years of aging separated them now and Mai could see the slight variances that she hadn’t noticed before. Gene was not only shorter than his ‘widdle brother’, but his face was more rounded and his voice was just half an octave or so higher.

Mai still hadn’t moved since she noticed Naru. Seeing the both of them together, right in front of her, it was mucking up her systems to be sure. Part of her was still confused despite knowing perfectly well that they were indeed two different people.  Part of her wanted to jump up and down at getting to see both of her boys at the same time. _Her boys?_ That wasn’t what she meant. That was, uh, no she meant—

“Hey Mai,” Gene called, mercifully pulling her back from whatever had just broken in her brain. “Wanna see something neat?” Gene pulled up his hand to about chest height on Naru and waved it though his brother. Naru in turn shuddered briefly and began to look around the room suspiciously. Stepping to his right Naru searched for the source of his disruption.

Gene grinned, though not as sweetly as Mai was used to seeing.

Following his brother he quickly brushed his hand across Naru’s shoulder. Naru spun on his heels looking back, Gene ducked behind the couch. It was absurd as Naru wouldn’t have been able to see him anyway. Mai had to clasp her hands over her mouth to try to cover the snort of laughter that escaped her lips. Two pairs of blue eyes fell on her.

“There she is.” Gene’s amiable tones called out at the same time as Naru’s cantankerous “What is so humorous Mai?”

“Nothing.” Mai was able to tamper down her giggles. Though her secondary attempt, to wipe the smile from her face, was an utter failure.

 “Mai.” Naru barked her name. The glare that he wore might have made her nervous if Gene hadn’t saddled up beside his brother once again. Gene was doing his best to try to match the scowl save for a quick wink and sticking out his tongue when he noticed her attention. Mai snorted again.

“Mai.” Naru squinted harder. He was severely pissed and she wanted desperately to respect that this was probably a very serious situation for him. But now Gene was pacing behind him his hand on his chin in Naru’s ‘thinking’ pose.

“Mai,” Gene began in mock severity. “I am extremely disappointed that you would find any enjoyment in your work. Why can’t you be a better employee? You should be uptight and boring like me. I am a paragon of professionalism.” Gene ruffled Naru’s hair causing him to nearly jump in surprise and Mai let out a full blown belly laugh.

“Mai, laughing at your employer is not very professional.” Naru interjected moodily.

Gene joined in her mirth clutching his own stomach at his brother’s impeccable timing. Mai in turn had to hold on to the back of the couch in an attempt to keep herself from falling to the floor.

“Mai! Tea!” Gene yelled out in a voice that held too much merriment to ever be mistaken for Naru’s own.  Mai fell forward unable to decide between clutching her side or the couch as silent laughter caught in her throat.

“Mai-.” Gene began again. But gathering her breath for just a second Mai cut him off.

“Stop, stop. I can’t-.” A fit of silent laughter seized her throat again. “Stop. Gene, I can’t breathe.” She braced her hands on the floor in front of her as she continued to laugh, tears coming to her eyes. Mai suddenly realized that the floor must be freezing because her hands were starting to ache from the cold.

Mai shivered and looked back up at her boys. She knew she must look like the biggest dork in the whole world, but she just wanted to stare at the two of them for as long as she could get away with it. Dopey look be damned.

Two of the same face, one with a grin split so wide across his face that she thought of the old adage about someone’s face getting ‘stuck that way’ the other with a scowl deep enough to rival the other’s joy. God, she loved them so much. The realization shattered something inside of her and she burst out “I’m going to miss you so much.”

She realized that she was still crying though she didn’t think they were the residue of her laughter any longer.

Both faces plummeted. Gene dropped down in front of her.

“Hey” he whispered their eyes meeting. Gene reached for her cheek, but his hand passed through it. Mai jerked back in response to the cold on her face. And the hurt in Gene’s eyes made her instantly hate her involuntary reaction. “Sorry.” He muttered as he turned away. Mai’s heart felt like a lead weight.

“Mai.” Naru’s voice brought Mai’s eyes up to the still standing twin. She blinked for a moment and wiped at her tears just to make sure she wasn’t imagining the hand that he held out to her.  After another moment of hesitation she took the proffered help and found herself swiftly pulled back to her feet.

Naru stood parallel to her and so close that if she had been brave enough to she could have leaned forward and rested her head on his shoulder. She wasn’t feeling brave, not right now.

“My brother,” Naru began slowly. “Is he still here?”

 “Yes.” Mai found that again her voice wouldn’t rise above a whisper.

She could sense the feeling coming back into her hand.  Radiating out from a circle of warm that slid along the back of her knuckles.  Mai bit her lip as she realized that must have been his thumb. Her double-crossing heart began beating so hard in her chest that she felt sure everyone in the room could see it.

A cough to her left shifted her attention back to the actual situation at hand.

Mai turned to find Gene with a more accurate approximation of Naru’s glower on his face than he had even been able to fake before.

“Yes, I am _still_ here, but maybe I should leave the two of you alone.” Well she was used to that petulant tone, but not from this twin.  “It’s not like it takes massive amounts of energy for me to manifest myself on the physical plane like this or anything.”

Mai blushed.

“Did you need to tell Naru something?” Mai asked the uncharacteristically Naru-like Gene.

“I told you why I was here Mai. I wanted to say goodbye,” He looked down at where Naru still held Mai’s hand clasped in his own. “To you.”

Mai looked down and noticed that hand herself. Looking back at Naru the closeness seemed to finally register with him and he released her taking a step back.

Mai’s head swiveled back to Gene to find that he had closed the space between them. She looked up into his eyes. _But,_ she thought, _not as far up as I would if it were Naru’s eyes._ His arms came out around her and she felt the cold as they started to pass though her. She tried to suppress a shiver at the coolness it filled her with. His mouth turned down in a frown, but then suddenly he smiled a small smile that lit up his eyes.

“Wanna see something neat?” He asked her again. And before she could respond she felt a cold rush and a tugging sensation. Then she was surrounded by warmth and she could feel the press of another body and arms holding her tightly.

She opened her eyes to find her face pressed in the familiar dark folds of a black oxford, lifting her head just a bit she peered up into dazzling blue eyes that reflected the lights of the souls that floated around them on the astral plane.

“Told you it was neat.” He whispered in her ear. She smiled and buried her head into his chest enjoying this one chance she would have to hold him.

They stood for just a few moments when the heavy notes of a chuckle rumbled in his chest and her attention was once again drawn up from her warm nook.

“Gene?” She looked up enjoying the light show reflected in his eyes. Despite his laughter Mai felt that his face looked gloomy.

“Even like this I don’t get you all to myself.” He said unhappily, gazing behind her. Mai turned and saw the office behind her.  There behind the couch was Naru with her unconscious body cradled in his arms. He must have caught her when she collapsed from entering the astral plane. Mai felt a hot flush spread across her face for what was probably the 100th time today.

Gene chuckled again and when Mai looked up she saw that he was looking at her now. He put a cool hand on her cheek.

“Who’d have thought _I_ would have to be jealous of that idiot scientist.” He smirked at her and Mai’s blush intensified at his implication.

“Don’t be silly, Naru doesn’t-“

“Look at other people the way he looks at you. I’ve noticed. Believe me.”  Mai was worried her heart might stop, because all of the blood in her body had to be in her face by now.

“Well I might not get to keep you Taniyama Mai, but I can at least steal this.” He leaned forward and kissed Mai gently.

Pulling away from her Gene’s smug smirk seemed even bigger. “Thank you.” He whispered resting his forehead on hers and staring at her intently.

Mai no longer worried about the functionality of her heart as it was once again hammering away at a breakneck pace in her chest. Gene had just kissed her. Gene. Had. Just. Kissed. Her. She blinked, she shook her head, no he was still there and so was the slight tingling sensation on her lips.

“What were you thinking?” she pushed him back, but not too hard.

“I’m sorry” He nearly chuckled again. “I just wanted to see what it was like, just once. I wanted you to have something to remember me by.”

She wasn’t mad, not really. She did love Gene, but the thought of kissing him was just. Weird. Really she was more surprised than anything. She had a sudden thought and couldn’t help but smile.

“Looks like Narcissism is a genetic trait.”

“Hey.” He pouted then reached out to ruffle her hair.

She pushed his hand away smiling. “I’ll miss you. I wish I could have met you, you know, before.”

He cupped her cheek once more, “Me too.”  He looked at her, eyes once again shining with the reflection of a thousand souls. She held his palm to her cheek and leaned into his hand. Feeling her emotions start to ball up in her throat again and blocking any other parting words she might have had for him.

“Till next time, Mai.”  He removed his hand from her cheek and pressed it to her chest just above her heart. Closing her eyes Mai felt the disorientation as he gave her a slight push backward.

She fell far longer than it should have taken to hit the floor. Finally with a settling feeling she opened her eyes. To once again find herself wrapped in the folds of a familiar black oxford with two markedly cooler blue eyes watching her.

“I’m back.”  She explained redundantly.

“Welcome back.” Naru repeated the rote response so casually. As if it weren’t extremely strange to have Naru say an informal pleasantry.

He stood bringing her with him as he rose.

“I would suspect that Gene has taken his leave of us?” He asked removing his arms from under her own.

“Yes.” Mai couldn’t help the slight blush that covered her face as she thought about his ‘parting gift’.

Naru looked as bad-tempered as ever. Looking her over one last time, most likely to ensure that she wasn’t going to collapse again in the outer office. He turned away and walked back towards his office. Picking up an empty box on his way into the poorly lit room and shutting the door behind him.

“I’m going to really miss you.” She told the empty room before turning and heading back for her broken pair of biscuits.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Lin

Lin stopped and straightened his jacket one last time before knocking on the door. He couldn't help but think about the first time he had knocked on this door. That was more than half a decade ago—well, that made him feel old. He had only been a few years older than Noll was now when he had first shown up at this seemingly unassuming brownstone. If he had known what he was getting himself into then would he have accepted Dr. Davis' offer?

Probably.

Despite his greatest efforts, over time, those boys had earned more than just his begrudging respect at their phenomenal abilities. While Gene's way of worming his way into someone's heart was more obvious, Noll's quiet persistence was no less effective.

The heavy wood of the door swung open silently, as bespoke the well-kept home of a family such as the Davis'. The home's location in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in London was no small indicator itself.

The bright smile of Luella Davis greeted him from the entryway of the house. She looked as radiant as ever. Hair perfectly tucked up, just a hint of makeup to accentuate her own natural beauty, clothes lovely and cut to what Lin could only guess was the latest fashion for a woman of her middling age. Lin thought of Gene and how he would describe his mother to others when they were out  _She's the picture of a proper lady, with just a dash of fun_. The thought almost made him smile.

"Good evening, Lin." Luella said warmly. "I am so glad you could take Martin up on his offer of dinner. It has been too long since we had you here."

Lin nodded in response.

"Now," Luella continued, "Do come in, and let's get something warm into you. I hope you didn't walk all the way here from your flat," she called over her shoulder as Lin followed her through the doorway. Pausing in her steps, if not her speech, she waited as he removed his jacket and placed it on the hall tree. "You took a cab, didn't you?" She asked. "It's simply too cold. You didn't take the Tube, did you?"

With this she finally looked back at him. "No, of course you didn't. Come on, then. I have a pot of green tea ready in the parlor."

Reaching the room Luella separated herself from Lin and headed towards the tea setting. Lin strode to his usual spot, a low loveseat which sat across from two matching high-backed arm chairs. Looking to his left, Lin could almost see Gene, legs dangling as he sat on the window bench. Gene would be looking out the window, attention wavering as he was usually a part, but not the focus, of the discussions that Lin was called into this room for. For better or worse, that honor was usually reserved for the other twin. Noll had caused a poltergeist, Noll had collapsed from a vision, or Noll was being a right twat. Well, that last one was Gene's usual description of the problem at hand.

The room was nearly identical to how he had always seen it before, save for a few piles of books and papers that had taken over the now-unused window seat. Luella arrived next to him and Lin noticed the somber look she gave to the unkempt assemblage. She passed him his tea and hurried to tidy the area.

"I'm sorry for the mess, Lin. Martin had let Noll take over the study with his dissertation research and moved his own reading materials in here. I have told him he must keep things neater if he is going to encroach upon the main house," Luella explained. She brushed down the window seat, removing some invisible granules from the cloth of the seat cushion. Her fingers trailed slowly across the fabric in a way that made Lin's heart twinge in sympathy.

Physically shaking herself, Luella lifted her head to look out the window. "Where is Martin? He was only going—" Her voice quick.

"Luella, have you see my notes from this afternoon?" Martin Davis asked as he poked his head in the doorway. Luella turned and gave her husband a pointed look then turned her gaze to Lin. "Oh yes!" Martin exclaimed, clearly just remembering the invitation he had presented to Lin not five hours earlier. "Lin, you are here already. So good of you to come. Don't get up."

Martin strode across the small room and placed the papers from his arms on the empty space his wife had so recently created, earning him another spousal glare.

"Dreadfully cold, isn't it? You didn't walk, did you?" Martin asked, removing his glasses. Reaching behind him, his hand searched for the top of the side table to rest his spectacles on. Naturally he missed the table by nearly half a meter; Luella instead held out her hand below his, caught the eyeglasses, and placed them where they belonged.

Lin felt strangely contented watching the display of familiarity. He had always admired the way Luella and Martin were able to make relationships and working together look so effortless. But that feeling was quickly replaced by a slight knot in his stomach as he watched the couple in front of him. Luella stood with her back stiff and her arm resting on the back of Martin's chair. Martin was fixing himself a cup of tea, but he seemed to be taking his time in the decision of whether or not to add honey to the warm brew. Lin knew for a fact that Martin always put honey in his green tea and his waffling was more likely a stalling tactic than an actual mental dilemma.

"Martin," she sighed, "Stir in your honey and sit down. No one here is in the mood for your attempts at filibustering."

Martin jumped slightly, before doing as instructed. Luella's voice no longer held the upbeat effortlessness of a practiced hostess.

Lin felt his discomfort grow. The picture before him was one that he had seen before. Whenever he had failed to meet the expectations of his employers.

As he expected, the head of the Davis family got right to the point.

"Something is wrong with Oliver." Luella unsuccessfully attempted to keep the worry from her voice. They may not be blood, but Noll certainly shared his direct nature with his mother.

Lin looked between the parents Davis and took a sip from his tea, waiting on additional information.

"I think he is overworking himself. He is always hold up in that study. He keeps the fire going in there day and night. It is far too warm in there. I can see that he is sweating, yet he is shivering. He cancelled his last three social engagements—one was even with Mr. Pratt."

Lin was surprised by this news. Despite Oliver's distaste for socialization, he knew the importance of appeasing his patrons. Business success was always given higher priority than personal feelings.

"Martin swore that it was just the stress of his upcoming defense, but that was three weeks ago. And it went well, I think it went well, don't you think so Martin?"

"Yes, dear it went very well." Martin smiled reassuringly. Lin could tell that Luella was on edge about something. She had a tendency to go on tangents when she felt uncomfortable.

"I just wish he had kept his hand out of his pocket during the presentation," said Luella "It's bad form. I have told him so." Her voice was gaining in pitch and speed. She blinked, her eyes losing their frantic glazing. "He just seems distracted," she began again, voice on a more even keel. "More than once I have heard him call out about his tea, but when I go in to ask if he wants me to bring him a cup he looks shocked to see me."

"Luella, you are reading too much into things," Martin argued. He attempted to reassure his wife by placing his hand over hers, but she quickly pulled it away.

"Do not try to placate me, Martin Davis. A mother knows when her son is unwell. You haven't heard him call out 'my tea' to arrive to confused stares—Lin, are you alright?"

Lin had had the misfortune of attempting another swallow of tea as Luella had continued her elucidation and had promptly chocked on the sip.

"Yes," he stated, clearing his throat.

"Good. Well, anyway. I am worried about his health now that, now that Gene…" Luella trailed off, unable to finish.

Lin watched Luella once again fight for control over tremulous emotions and he realized what a fool he had been since he had stepped into the home. Of course this was about Noll's health. The prospect of losing her remaining son was eating away at Luella Davis. He should have seen it. Even if she did her damnedest to hide it, because it would not be appropriate for a woman of her standing to show how much fear and pain her everyday thoughts might contain. Lin shook his head. Noll had more in common with his mother than he realized.

"Now that Gene isn't around to help him," Lin finished for her. Luella nodded, glassy-eyed. Noll's power was contained as if wrapped in a bag, and it had taken years of training and physical restrictions on his person to be able to create that containment. Every time he called upon his power in some way, it was like small prick was made in the canvas of the bag. Noll knew to keep any PK usage small so that just a trickle of power would come out. In the past, if his power had gotten to dangerous levels, Gene had been there to save him. But without Gene around to seal those holes up…well. Too many holes and the cloth would start to tear and the resulting flood could drown the boy. This was precisely why Noll wasn't supposed to use his PK anymore.

"What we really want to know, Lin, is did you see any signs of this in Japan? He was there for so long and he seemed to be doing quite well, but now he has been back home less than four months and he seems to be wasting away," Luella inquired, watching him expectantly.

Lin thought for a moment. Could Noll be attempting to manipulate his abilities on his own? Lin didn't think he would be that foolish; he knew the dangers. He had attempted to use his abilities only on rare occasions in Japan and only in the smallest ways. Well, most of the time in small ways—two trips to the hospital in a year and a half was a decent track record with no Gene around to act as Noll's power buffer.

"I can't say that I saw anything like that," he replied.

"What could he be doing differently here, what is the catalyst?" Martin interjected.

"You know Noll, he is fully committed to his research," Lin proposed.

"It just doesn't feel right. Has he said anything to you, Lin?" Luella asked. "You have spent so much time with him, we thought that maybe he would tell you something that he wouldn't tell us."

Lin blanched slightly. "Noll hasn't spoken with me since we returned from Japan." He could hardly believe that they hadn't noticed.

"What!" Luella exclaimed as Martin added, "Well that can't possibly be true. We saw the two of you in the hall at SPR, when was that, last week? Remember Luella, you mentioned to me that we should see about calling maintenance because the heat there seemed to be malfunct—oh."

"Oh." His wife echoed realization dawning on her face.

Lin looked uncomfortably between the two.

"But what could you have done to invoke such ire, Lin?"

Lin took a deep breath, but he didn't hesitate. "I kept my promise."

Luella tilted her head to the side, a gesture Lin recognized all too well from Eugene.

"I told Noll that if he used his PK in a way that I thought could be dangerous to him, I would drag him back to England if necessary. I didn't drag him back, but I did inform you, and here he is. I don't think he was very pleased that I made good on the threat."

"Ah yes, that case about the missing Diet member's daughter," Martin stated thoughtfully, chin in hand. "Yes. Noll did know better than to take something that could get so much attention."

"To be fair," Lin interjected, "he only agreed if they promised to keep whatever he found as an anonymous tip."

"But it was still reckless and you said it nearly put him in hospital again," Luella pointed out.

Lin nodded. That was still a strange point. Normally if Noll exhausted himself to the point of collapsing he was indeed hospital-bound. That last time, though, Lin could feel his tumultuous energy begin to settle almost immediately. Perhaps he  _had_  made steps in determining some method of control that did not involve his brother.

Martin tapped a finger against his chin, working though the information. "But when I spoke with him concerning the case, Noll agreed to the idea of returning."

Lin frowned at Martin. Noll had agreed? Lin thought for sure that Martin, or more possibly Luella, had demanded it of him.

"It's not like Noll to openly agree to something he didn't want," Lin added.

"Quite. I was actually shocked to tell you truth. We were discussing his ability to handle whatever might arise because of the situation. Luella and I were reminding him of his responsibilities back here and we questioned his ability to continue to meet those commitments from afar. Things got heated for a moment." Martin looked over at his wife again who nodded in agreement. "Then suddenly he was stating that he felt he should return and finish his work here. That he would be returning within a week. He seemed so committed to his research there up until that point. I thought we would have to pry him away one finger at a time."

Noll had  _offered_  to come back? He had argued for going back to Japan the whole time they had been in England last time. He kept talking about his research and understanding eastern interpretations of the paranormal. Lin had a feeling that as much as the research did interest Noll his need to go back to Japan had less to do with what was in Japan and more to do with what was missing in England. His instance had been quite strong about staying. What could have changed that?

"I can speak to him if you think it would help," Lin offered.

Luella let out a relieved sigh.

Martin added, "It would be much appreciated."

"I can't promise that he will even speak back," Lin reminded them.

Luella gave him a small smile. "He will, he must. You are the only person he has ever opened up to. Besides Gene of course." The strain in her voice nearly caused it to crack.

Lin could feel the pain of admitting that someone was closer to her son than she was. It practically radiated off Luella. Martin, though less vocal, also showed signs of wear. Luella had spent a long time waiting for Noll to peer out at her from behind his walls. Patience was clearly one of her greatest virtues. But now she seemed to fear that all that time and effort would be lost, as ever-higher barriers were constructed.

Lin had a thought. "I will do my best, but I have to tell you that you are actually incorrect," he informed them. "I'm not the only one Noll trusts. In fact, I may not even be counted among that number any longer."

Both of the Davis parents stared at him their faces blank with confusion. "What do you mean?' Martin asked.

"He may not have even realized it himself, but he had actually become quite close with a young woman at our office." Lin waited, watching the frozen faces of the Davis parents. He began to take another sip of his tea, but stopped as he realized just how loud the sound of shuffling china was when time stood still.

"A young…" Martin whispered trailing off.

"Noll?" Luella questioned.

"She reminds me of Gene, actually. I can see why Noll would feel so comfortable around her even if he didn't recognize it," Lin said, smiling to himself. "I don't think she ever realized the power she held over him. Not that it matters now." Glancing back at the couple, he found them still rooted to their spots. "I'm not telling you to start picking out china patterns. I am simply stating that Noll did actually—"

"Make a friend." Luella's smile was finally reflected in her voice.

"After a fashion," Lin agreed. "I will go speak with him now if you like," he added as he stood from the small sofa.

Martin gave his head a brief toss as he rose. He had a small smirk on his face that he seemed to be fighting against as he nodded to Lin. "That would be much appreciated."

Lin turned to go, but as he put down his tea cup, Martin continued, "Oh yes—Lin, I thought you would be interested to know we may have a final candidate for the management position in Japan."

Lin looked back over his shoulder. "Who?" he asked.

"A Dr. Johnathan Murphy."

Lin tried to hide his flinch. "Jack Murphy, interesting choice."

"He comes highly recommended from our American colleagues, and the position interested him enough that he took it upon himself to begin taking Japanese lessons. Language barriers have made applicants hard to come by," Martin explained.

"You are aware that Noll hates him."

"Noll has apparently lost interest in our Japanese endeavors. So I'm afraid he gave up his right to an opinion on the matter."

Martin raised a finger as a new thought occurred to him. "You know, now that you mention it Lin, I just came to this decision recently and I haven't had the chance to mention it to Noll yet. Would you do me the favor of mentioning to him for me?" Martin asked, his smirk now grown to a full-fledged grin.

Lin nodded once more and turned back to the door. Perhaps Noll had more in common with his father than he realized as well.

"Just head to the dining room when you two are done speaking. We will meet you both there," Luella added as he stepped from the room. Lin nodded, understanding the underlying threat of 'arrive together or not at all' that laced Luella's pleasant tone.

The way down to the study was quick, a path that Lin had walked many times. He made his way through the narrow hall and up to the door. Lin didn't bother knocking as he entered the study.

Oliver sat behind a large mahogany desk in front of an equally large fireplace that took up most of the back wall. The remaining walls were filled with overflowing book shelves. Lin waited a moment for Oliver to look up from the manuscript he was reading. Unsurprisingly, he did nothing of the sort.

"Have you been called in to speak to me about my so called self-neglect?" Noll asked, his eyes firmly trained on his reading.

"You have been upgraded to wasting away."

Noll rolled his eyes before finally bringing them up to meet Lin's. "Certainly."

Noll stood, dropped his reading materials, and presented himself for examination, arms spread wide. He even gave a half turn. "Will that do? Or do I need to show you my teeth as well?" he drawled.

Lin didn't respond, so Oliver sat back in his chair and immediately turned his gaze back to his papers. "You can run back to your handlers and report that all is well," he said, shooing Lin with a twitch of his hand. Lin had experienced worse dismissals before, but it was clear Noll was still not interested in speaking with him.

Lin made a show of checking the books on the shelves nearest him while keeping a side eye on Oliver. Noll did seem to be in better shape than Luella had lead on. There was a fire burning in the fireplace, though the room did not seem as stiflingly hot as Luella had described it. He had noticed the warmth of the door handle when he had opened the door and there had been a slight fluttering of heat that had first hit him when he entered the room. He wasn't uncomfortable, but prolonged exposure could change that.

Strangely, there was a distinct lack of sweat on Noll's brow for someone so close to the hearth. And Lin thought he might have noticed a slight tremble in Noll's arms, but he couldn't be sure if it was a shiver of cold or anger at this continued evaluation.

If Noll had been attempting to practice managing his PK on his own, it would account for the need for additional warmth. His PK use drained him of energy, which left him more vulnerable to ambient temperature. His PK, or any of his moods for that matter, tended to have a glacial effect on his immediate surroundings. So if he was running repeated tests of his PK in this room he would keep it warm for appearances' sake if not just for his own comfort. Noll hated being too hot or too cold so if he was subjecting himself to one temperature extreme or another, there was usually something else afoot.

"Have you been keeping up with your exercises?" Lin presented the question, attempt number two at conversation.

"Of course," came the curt reply, head still turned down.

Lin nodded, running his fingers along the books on the shelf nearest him. "Are you still running through the forms daily or have you cut back at all?"

"Primarily daily, though I will admit I have missed a day or so here or there."

Lin reached the desk. He placed his fingers along its edge and began to peruse the myriad of books and manuscripts that littered the top.

"Have you noticed any difference in control on days that you miss?" he asked. Appealing to Noll's investigative nature was the easiest way to pull him into conversation. With more than half a decade of practice, Lin was well-versed in getting Noll to respond, even if recent events had left him doubting those abilities.

"Not particularly," was the delayed response. Lin waited for more information, which he didn't actually expect to receive.

Scanning the desk in front of him, Lin suddenly noticed the title of the book his eyes had just passed over. Dr. Buchanan's _Divergent Minds: Extraordinary Mental Abilities and Their Attributes._ It was not surprising to see by itself, but lying next to it was a manuscript titled  _Transference: The Convergence of Extra Sensory Capabilities,_  and another titled  _The Effect of Proximity on the Confluence of Preternatural Talents._

If he remembered correctly, Dr. Buchanan's book also had a chapter on "direct mental interactions with living systems", summarizing research on the effect of one person's intentions or abilities on another's psychophysiological state. This was never a topic that Noll showed very much interest in in the past. Perhaps he was already planning his next paper? It seemed rather soon after finishing his dissertation.

"New research?" Lin asked, picking up the paper on proximity. "What lead to your…"

He trailed off as he read some highlighted sections of the text.  _Continued exposure to subject A lead to increased episodes of power level spikes in subject B. For this, we can establish that there seems to be a direct correlation between prolonged exposure to the psychic abilities of others and the development of a subject's own abilities. The level of influence seems to vary, but presents in some manner constantly throughout multiple trials. Because of this we propose a causality associated with psychic exposure on the development—_

Lin's head jerked up as the papers were roughly removed from his hands. Noll stood in front of him, the papers shaking in his fingers.

"Did you need something?" he asked, his voice lacking its usual nonchalance. If Lin didn't know better he would almost say that was a hit of panic in Noll's voice. "Do you require further proof of my good health for my parents? I have work to do."

Lin could feel the room cool and see the sweat finally start to bead along Noll's brow. Noll's  _was_  upset about something.

_What is he researching? Or more accurately, what does he not want anyone to know he is researching?_  Lin wondered. Transference was essentially the effect of psychic abilities on the preternatural capabilities of others, so it would require two subjects: the influencer and the influenced. It was a potentially dangerous concept. If only there was more research to substantiate it. Quality parapsychological research was so rare to begin with, especially for such a specialized topic. These may be the only papers on the topic, total. Why would Noll be interested in this, he never seemed to be back when he had someone—?

Lin brought his hand to his brow and rubbed at the headache that was beginning to form. Twice today he had played the fool. Lowering his hand, he met Noll's stare with his own. His shoulders hunched, as if he needed to physically brace himself for the storm he was about to whip up.

"How long?" he asked, his voice quiet, but firm.

Noll at least had the good grace to go pale before he recovered enough to begin his denials. "'How long' what? How long have you been wasting my time? Long enough."

"Oliver." Lin could hear the pressure in his own voice. If Noll decided he didn't like the turn of the conversation, things could get more than 'heated' as Martin and Luella had put it. "How long have you suspected that you have been influencing Taniyama's abilities?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you are talking about," Noll said a little too quickly. He kept his eyes locked on Lin's, but Lin could see his hand fidgeting in his pocket. "Now, as I have repeatedly, mentioned I am actually quite busy right now. I don't suppose we could continue this useless interrogation later?"

Lin racked his brain, looking for the clues he should have noticed earlier. Clues he  _had_  noticed earlier.  _Of course!_  In the office, before they left, Noll had used his psychometry to look for the Diet member's daughter and then Mai had also had a dream at nearly the same time. Something had bothered him about the way she was moving.  _What was it?_

Noll had gotten up, then Mai had screamed, and Noll had tripped in his efforts to reach her. When Mai had awoken she had kept fussing with her leg and even though she thought she was hiding it, it was clear she had been favoring the appendage the rest of the day.  _Was it the same leg? If course it had to be the same leg_.

_Damn it._ The marks of his apparent obliviousness were ticking up tonight.

"The vision, in the office right before we left..." Lin started softly.

He stopped. He placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward. Often he made conscious efforts to approach someone in a way that would limit the amount of intimidation his height inspired, but this was not one of those times. No, now he was grateful for every centimeter he had over the younger man. Even if those centimeters had dropped significantly since they had met.

"So you figured it out, and what? You ran away?" Lin continued, no longer even attempting to hide the anger and disappointment he felt.

Noll slammed his hands on the desk. "I didn't run away!" he snapped. Tremors flowed over his upper body in waves. Lin knew that he stop himself, but he surged forward anyway.

"Packing your bags and leaving the country a week later. That's called running away, Noll."

"You are the one who called my  _Mother_ , what did you think would happen?"

Lin felt the sting that Noll's words were meant to carry, but not as strongly as Noll might have hoped. "Don't lie to me. Your Father told me that it was  _you_ who suggested that you come back. You are just using your parents as something to hide behind. Take responsibility for your own actions."

Noll paled again briefly, before straightening his back and clenching his jaw in silent indignation.

Lin's voice dropped before he continued. "Taniyama-san deserved better than to be left in the dark like that," he hissed, anger roiling in his gut. "She deserves a lot better."

_Tink. Tink, Tink, Tink._ Out of the corner of his eye Lin noticed the porcelain tea cup on the desk as it began to shiver in its saucer. A low rumble played underneath the high soprano of the cup. A quick look over his shoulder confirmed his suspicions. Hundreds of books were shuffling uneasily upon their shelves.

"Noll," Lin warned, but Noll ignored him. His eyes were glassy and he looked at Lin. Or no, he looked  _through_  him.

_Thunk. Thunk._  Books began to free themselves from their organized cubbies. Some fell straight to the ground but others nocked into the walls and furniture around them in a disorganized parade through the air. One bumped persistently to the back of Lin's leg.

He had pushed too far.

If Noll was losing self-control like this he was far more upset about the situation than he was willing to let on. Lin kicked the book near his leg and did a quick survey of the damage the room had already sustained. Not terrible so far, but he could tell that the energy was still building.

When Lin turned back all he could see was the small, scared 12-year-old he had first met. Overwhelmed by a burden no child should have to bear, yet completely unwilling to trust anyone. His chest clenched and he felt a distinct dry lump of emotion block his throat.

He should have come back sooner. He was supposed to watch out for Noll.

That's right, he was supposed to watch out for Noll not wallow in his own failures. Lin took a deep breath and worked to calm his own turbulent feelings. He was the adult here, he shouldn't have gotten so swept up in things. It was time to end this tantrum.

"Noll, stop this!" Lin commanded as he walked around the desk, closer to the ticking time bomb in the room.

"What do you think I am trying to do?" Noll replied through gritted teeth and the strain was more evident than ever in the younger man's taunt frame. Oliver's white knuckles were lined in bright pink as he grasped the edge of the desk, his shoulders hunched and knees bent under some kind of invisible burden. His eyes, still glassy, were no longer unfocused, and his breathing came shallow and erratic. Lin could practically see Noll cracking under the pressure.

"Focus on your breathing," Lin instructed. He raised and dropped his own hands, slowly, palms flowing up and down in the space between them. "Steady breaths, clear your mind," he murmured, matching the cadence of his words to the motion of his hands.

The tea cup smashed to the ground with a high-pitched shatter.

"Breath in," Lin coached, watching as Noll's chest rose and his eyes slid closed.

_Thunk. Thunk. Thunk._  Books rained down throughout the room. Lin flinched slightly as one book and then another bounced off of his shoulders, but he ignored the falling tomes as he kept his focus on Noll's struggle.

"And now breathe out," Lin finished, speaking louder to make sure that Noll could still focus on his voice over the din.

The  _thunk_  of the books ended and the heavy sound of a deep exhalation filled the room. Lin immediately felt warmer air press against him. He watched as Noll deflated. Sloppily, Noll reached for his chair and dropped himself into it with a full body shiver.

Lin stooped to collect a familiar blue blanket from beneath the desk and placed it over Noll's knees. The tremors were slowing now. Noll ran his hands over his face, rubbing his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose, and finally wrapping his hands around the back of his skull as he let his head hang forward.

"I wasn't running away," Noll began, still folded in on himself. His voice lacked its usual confidence. Instead it was soft and hollow. "I just needed to figure out what was causing it. To see if there was something I could do to stop it." He paused, but Lin waited, willing to let this uncharacteristically open moment play out for as long as it would. "I couldn't be responsible for making her see things like that," Noll continued. "I know what it's like. She shouldn't—"

Noll raised his head. His breaths were still shaky, but the tremors had stopped. His eyes asked for understanding, validation that he had made the right choice.

"And that," Lin's voice carried the smile that split his face, "is called compassion."

Noll watched Lin for a moment more before turning to look into the fire instead. Lin rested a hand on the arm of the chair and felt the first bubbles of laughter build in his chest. A moment later light chuckles buried the arrhythmic sound of the crackling fire.

"I'm glad you find my failure so amusing," Noll sulked.

"A failure? You think this was a failure?" Lin looked around the disheveled but still room. "I could write a paper on all the accomplishments you just achieved."

Oliver turned back towards Lin and one blue eye glared accusingly, but Lin didn't stop. "Really Noll, it's refreshing to get reminders that you are actually human like the rest of us from time to time. And your control over your PK was very impressive."

The glare only intensified.

Lin pushed himself up and leaned against the desk. He waited for Noll to join him; he knew better than to offer a hand to help Noll from the chair. After a few moments Noll still hadn't lifted himself up.

Lin's chest clenched. Perhaps Noll didn't have as good of control as he had hoped. Had he overexerted himself?

"Noll, can you get up? I was supposed to bring you with me to dinner. I'm not sure if I can survive both you and your mother in one day."

Noll moved his hands from his head, but continued to look into his lap. Instead of getting up he reached into his pocket and pulled out something that dully reflected the light. Lin watched as Noll rolled the object in his hands. It seemed to be metallic, but Lin couldn't tell for sure from this distance and something told him he shouldn't ask about it. Noll took a deep breath, closed his palm around whatever he was fiddling with, and nodded.

"We're going to be ok," he said, but his voice was flat, as if he were reciting from a text or a mantra.

"Who is  _we_?" Lin asked.

Noll's head shot up, his face scrunched in obvious confusion. Perhaps Luella's concerns over his mental state weren't all that unfounded.

With a small force of effort Noll raised himself from the chair and pushed it away. Lin noticed that Noll had caught the blanket before it fell as he rose. Noll scanned the room, gauging the aftermath of his outburst. He proceeded to fold the cloth before placing it in the seat he had just vacated.

With a quick nod from Noll, Lin turned and, stepping over the mess to deal with later, lead the way towards the door. He held it open as Noll followed, traversing the clear spots of the floor.

"Oh yes, your father asked me to mention that they had selected a new manager for the Japanese branch," Lin said slyly; he couldn't help but smirk as he watched Noll stumble a bit. Because of the treacherous terrain, certainly.

Securing steady purchase again, Noll brought his gaze back to Lin, an unspoken command for him to continue speaking. "Jack Murphy," Lin supplied to the unasked question.

Noll's eyes unfocused and Lin could see them flick around as he scanned his limited catalogue of remembered individuals. There was no recognition dawning. Lin was unsurprised; Noll's memory was not usually wasted on 'useless entities.'

"The tower incident," Lin prompted as Noll walked past him into the hall. Nothing still. "With the false medium, he made us turn off the cameras so she could work  _undisturbed_."

Lin shut the door behind them. That room could be addressed at another time.

Noll's face pinched and his eyes narrowed with the memory. "That man is incompetent. I will have to speak to Father about this. Is he  _trying_  to destroy my business?" Noll grumbled, stalking off towards the dining room.

Lin decided that he wouldn't bring up the possessive as he picked up his own pace and stepped into place beside Oliver.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- Madoka

The blue-white light from the bank of monitors caused Madoka to have to squint as she entered the base. While dim, the sharp electrical brightness was more of a contrast to the dark halls then she would have thought. Blinking the spots from her eyes, she finished her approach to the wall of equipment.

She gave the screens a cursory glance before turning her attention to her assistant. _Nothing._

“Anything?” She asked the pointless question.

Yasuhara looked up his glasses gleaming with the reflection of the monitors. The rectangles of light left faint afterimage trails as he shook his head in the negative.

Madoka sighed. So much for her skills as the manager of this branch. She got them more duds than active cases. This case was only stacking those numbers further against her.

 “Come on let’s switch, at least we can all enjoy the extra sleep.” She said waving Yasuhara up from his chair.

“Well almost all of us.” Yasu whispered and indicated over his shoulder as he stood. Madoka looked past him and as her eyes adjusted to the relative darkness of the rest of the room, she saw Mai sitting at a desk in the back corner of the room her head resting on her arms. Despite her semi prone position, they knew she was not asleep. Mai did not come in here to sleep.

“How long has she been up?” She asked matching his lowered voice.

“She came in about two hours ago, I think. I don’t really remember. Didn’t say anything just went and sat over there.”

“You know I can hear you, right?” Mai didn’t move her head so her speech was half muffled by her arms, but her annoyance was clear.

“Alright, go to bed Yasuhara-san. I will take care of everything in here.” Madoka moved to the side so Yasu could make his way past her and out of the room.

 He hesitated for a moment.

“I could stay, it’s my turn. You talked to her last time.”

“I’m fine.” Mai’s mumbles drifted over once more.

Yasu shot up an eyebrow over his glowing glasses and held out his fist in front of him.

Masako shrugged and put out her own fist.

“Starting with rock” Yasu prompted.

“I’m not that old, I remember how to play.”

As they raised their fists Mai’s voice once again interrupted them. “Don’t play janken over who has to talk to me I am fine. Really.” The scraping of a chair half covering the end of her sentence.

Madoka turned to check on Mai once more.  Now up from her chair Mai moved nearer to join them by the monitors.

“You sure you’re ok, you were at Naru bordering on Lin levels of quiet over there kiddo.” Yasu teased.

Mai’s jaw set. “Alright, old man, Janken. I win you go to bed.” Mai smiled her own eyes gleaming with the electrical glow.

“And when I win, you let me take you out.” Yasuhara countered.

Mai rolled her eyes, but then nodded. Madoka had the sneaking suspicion that this was not the first time they had such a conversation.

Mai rolled her sleeves up on her arms, rolled out her shoulders, and took a step back to secure her footing. She wasn’t smiling anymore.

“I think you are in trouble Yasuhara-san.” Madoka laughed.

With a nod they were off. Madoka was immediately grateful that she had been spared an attempt to play. Their hands flashed up and down in the unsteady light in rapid succession as they chanted. Two rocks, two scissors, two rocks again, scissors and a paper.

Mai quickly reached over to smack Yasu playfully on the shoulder.

“See I won.” She beamed at him.

“So did I.” He smiled back at Mai knowingly. Madoka felt her own smirk joining Yasuhara’s.

Mai’s mouth hung open for a moment until she caught up. “Yasu, I told you I didn’t need cheering up.”

“Well, I think I am off to bed.” Yasu offered stretching. “Have fun!” He called over his shoulder, arms stretched overhead as he passed through the door.

Madoka shook her head in amusement. Yasuhara’s mind was a gloriously devious thing.

“Alright champ, pull up a chair and stare into the void with me for a while.” Madoka sat in the rolling chair that Yasu had previously occupied.

A few disgruntled grumbles and scrapping sounds later Mai plopped unceremoniously into her own seat. Staring vacant eyed at the bank of monitors in front of them.

Madoka opened the lid of her laptop and waited as it woke. “So, couldn’t sleep?”

“Nope.”

“Nightmares?” Madoka prompted, logging in.

Mai shrugged.

“Anything case related?”

Mai glanced back at Madoka and gave her head a small quick shake. “I don’t think I’ll be of any help in that department anymore.” She rested her chin on her folded arms once again. “I don’t really get all of it, but long story short I was apparently only seeing the things Gene showed me. I haven’t seen anything since they left.”

Madoka wondered if Mai had noticed the pause she had taken before that last word. It was not long, but it was still there.  

“Want to talk about the nightmare?”

“Not really. It wasn’t even a nightmare. Just an unpleasant dream. Don’t worry about it I’m—

“Fine.  You mentioned. If you want to talk just let me know.” Madoka smiled at the younger woman who looked up at her from her arm nest and smiled back.  Madoka wasn’t sure that she was exactly maternal material, but she knew how to sit near a friend when they just needed someone nearby.

Returning her attention to her computer, she began to clean out her inbox in the hope of making the monotony of the next few hours pass faster. After deleting six spam messages she noticed an email from Lin subjected ‘Updates’ from 15 minutes ago skipped the other inevitable junk and opened the correspondence.

_Madoka,_

_I wanted to let you know that Martin informed they picked someone for the Japan branch earlier today. Jack Murphy, in case you do not remember him, he was the idiot who kept going on about the how the measuring equipment affected his psychic’s readings when we did the tower case a couple of years ago.  I do not think it will shock you to say that I have my concerns as well as my own theories on the choice._

_In addition, Noll collapsed at dinner and is in hospital. Doctors think he will be fine. They diagnosed the usual exhaustion, low blood pressure, and anemia. They expect to keep him for the next few days. Luella is not in a good mood. DO NOT CALL._

_How is Taniyama, has there been anything odd happening with her recently? I will email you again once I get back to the flat._

Madoka gaped at the screen briefly before opening a reply and feverously compiling a response.

_WHAT! Koujo, when Noll is in hospital you mention that FIRST. He is rubbing off on you. Despite your protests to the contrary._

_You have so much to explain. I am guessing you were there when he collapsed. I thought you said he still wasn’t talking to you? Were you being overdramatic again? How is Luella? I won’t call, but you need to email me back right away._

Madoka looked to her left to survey her young companion. Mai was now sleeping, head still resting on her arms. Nothing out of the ordinary there. She quickly added.

_Mai is fine, why do you ask? You old softy! She has been quieter these last few months, but we were anticipating something. Email me back!_

_Oh and I sure do remember Jack. What is Martin thinking? Does he want this place to fail? I don’t remember Jack knowing any Japanese. Didn’t the boys use it to get away with insulting him? But really all of this is secondary. Get back to me about Noll._

Sending off the completed response Madoka looked at the clock on the bottom of the screen. 5:16, less than three hours and they could officially call this place a dud and pack up. Those were going to be a long 164 minutes.

132 minutes later Madoka received a fresh distraction in the form of a highly anticipated response email.

_Firstly, I will ignore that comment since I know that you want to continue to receive replies I can only infer that you didn’t actually mean it._

_Secondly, Noll. Yes, I was at dinner with them. I guess I will start at the beginning. Since you obviously need the long version. No, Noll still wasn’t speaking to me. Secondary comment once again ignored. Martin invited me over for dinner. I should have known Luella was actually behind it. She was worried about Noll. Apparently I wasn’t the only one Noll was ignoring. He canceled some social occasions, even ones with patrons._

_I spoke with him; he had been busy burying himself in some new research. I think he had forgotten that he couldn’t just do as he pleased in England as he had been doing in Japan. He got too used to the freedom. You know how he gets when he’s interested in something. I hadn’t realized that Luella had never seen it without Gene around to temper Noll’s obsessive tendencies._

_Long story short, we talked, it was good. We went to dinner and Noll promptly fell face first into the soup course. The way Luella was looking at me I was afraid I was going to be joining him in the ambulance._

_How is Luella? Well other than joining her son in the glaring at Koujo club she seems to be doing better now. She and Martin were still with Noll when I left. The misery in his face almost made everything he had put me through today worth it._

_I am glad to hear that Taniyama is well. Keep an eye on her please, the new research I mentioned Noll has been looking into is on Transference. He suspects something is going on between the two of them._

_Oh, you will like this, on a related note I figured out why we left Japan so quickly. Noll got scared and ran away once he guessed at the connection to Taniyama. I know what you are going to say, he is just a kid. I understand that. It is hard to be reminded of that fact sometimes though. Sorry. It was a trying day Madoka._

_What have I forgotten? Jack, of course. If my memory serves, the boys became cognizant of that particular trick from you. Martin said that Jack apparently took it upon himself to start studying Japanese as soon as he heard about the position. Pretentious ass._

_I agree hiring him is a terrible idea. Of course, Noll was not happy when I told him. Conversely, I get the feeling that Martin especially enjoyed that fact. As I said I have some theories, but I want to see how things go for a bit before I put any assumptions down._

 Madoka looked at her sleeping companion once more. Transference, well it had been a while since she read anything on that subject. She would have to look into it some more. Mai had just said that Gene was the reason she had had visions. However, Noll now suspected the connection was more direct between the two of them.

Madoka smirked. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking on his part. Well no that could not be the case if he ran away as soon as he realized it.  _Oh Noll, why would you think that would make things better?_

Madoka gave the email a quick second glance, before starting in on her reply.

_So you ‘talked’? What exactly did this talk consist of? Koujo, I know you are protective of him, but I can’t help if you don’t share all of the facts. I can only guess that this ‘talk’ was not exactly average._

_Do you think that Luella was overreacting? I mean she can, and I won’t lie that she has only gotten more over protective of Noll in the last few years, but she isn’t exactly one to jump to conclusions._

_On another note, “He suspects something is going on between the two of them.” I mean we have all had our suspicions about the two of them for some time, I just never expected him to be so open about it. ;) You brought that on yourself._

_But seriously, what is going on? I don’t remember a ton about transference, but it doesn’t seem like sharing abilities would spook him that bad. Mai already told me that Gene had been helping her before and I am sure Noll knew about this as well. What is going on?_

_I am going to pack up here, this case turned out to be a bust, keep me in the loop. I will keep an eye on Mai. Email or call me at the office soon._

_Hey, take care of yourself too, ok? I’m sorry about whatever happened. I’m glad you think that something good came from talking with Noll at least. I’m glad to hear you guys are getting patched up at least._

Hitting send Madoka took a moment to look over what she had just sent.

A slight shifting next to her signaled Mai’s return to the realm of the conscious.

“What’s that?” Mai asked.

“Email from Lin.” Madoka replied.

“How is he?”

“He seems, busy. I think it is a good busy though.”

Mai grunted slightly. Madoka closed the browser and then folded down the top of the machine. Ready to start packing and get out of this waste of time.

As she rose from her seat Mai presented another question.

“Is Naru ok?”

Madoka stopped mid stand. “Why wouldn’t he be ok Mai?”

Mai shrugged again looking at the table surface beneath her fingertips.

“Just a, just figured I would ask. I’m sure he is.” Mai said dismissing her earlier concern.

Madoka squinted at Mai. _She couldn’t possibly_. No. That was ridiculous, all these emails were making her paranoid. 

“Come on Mai let’s pack this place up and get out of here. Maybe if we are lucky we can sneak out before Yasuhara-san wakes up. That will send him for a spin.” Madoka grinned.

Mai giggled and grinned back before hitting the power conversion box and sending the monitors to black.

*            *            *

Madoka walked down the brightly lit hall trying not to feel too disturbed by the strange mix of modern carpeting and gaudy lighting fixtures that lined the long walls between doors.

Stopping in front of the door, she looked down and checked the number on her note one last time before knocking.

She ran a hand through her hair and smoothed down her dress as she waited for the door to open.

“I told you 10 Madoka, its 9:30.” Lin’s displeased baritone greeted her from the newly cracked entryway.

“I’m impatient, what can I say?” She smiled at him. “You going to let me in or do I have to wait out here for a half hour?” She asked pointing at the floor.

He sighed and opened the door further reveling his uncovered torso and damp hair.

She smirked and draped herself against the door frame.

“Oh Koujo, we have to stop meeting like this.” She exclaimed dramatically fanning her face.

Lin shook his head and let go of the door to make his way back to the room’s washroom.

Madoka couldn’t help but grin wider as she removed herself from the doorway, stepped into the room, and closed the door behind herself. The king-sized bed that took up most of the room was only mildly disheveled and there were no signs of Lin’s luggage anywhere in the room.

Organized to a fault.

“I have the notes I took on Mai here should I just leave the folder on the desk?”

Lin walked back into the room buttoning the top few buttons on his white oxford.  “Has there been anything of note?”

“Other than a significant drop in her insomnia problems? No. What about from Noll. You promised me you were going to try to get more information. It’s been over a month.” She asked setting down her purse next to the folder of notes.

“What do you want me to say Madoka, you know Noll. I got him to crack that first time and he got upset about it. So he has been even more reserved ever since.”

“You told me he picked up and tossed around the entire Davis household library with his PK that sounds like he was more than a little upset.” Madoka leaned against the desk behind her. “There has to be something more to it. Why would he care so much about the transference? If anything, I would think he would be fascinated. My gut reaction would have been fear that he would have tried to dissect her not that he would run off.”

Lin shrugged and sat on the end of the bed.

“Masterful insights there.”

Lin put up a hand in defeat.

“Oh you are killing me. You know what you are?”

He eyed her expectantly.

“A tease.”

Lin laughed. “I can’t say that I have ever been called _that_ before.”

“Well it’s true.”

“I don’t have more information Madoka, if I did I would tell you. Is that what you want to hear?”

“Now if only I could believe you. You two have been researching this for weeks and you don’t have anything new?”

“Noll is estimating that it is effected by distance. That is a big part of the reason we asked you keep an eye on Taniyama-san. Noll has been, testing the connection as it were.”

“Testing? With what?”

“Just reading some objects. Familiar objects. Did you ask her the questions we gave you?”

“Yes, she wasn’t very keen on talking about her dreams though.” Madoka tapped a finger on the file and responses in question. “Not that I can blame her we _are_ spying on her. Why doesn’t Noll just talk to her? Tell her about it. He would get much better answers from a knowledgeable source.”

“Noll is very keen on not talking to her. About this or anything else for that matter. I practically had to drag him back to Japan. If we didn’t have Jack as an excuse, I don’t think we would have been able to convince him at all. Martin knew how to hit Noll where it hurts, though. He told Noll that he could stay in England and leave his company in the hands of an inept prick or he could do his managerial duty to the company and take some time off from his research to at least train his replacement. Continuing that it was Noll’s sudden departure that left them in this predicament in the first place.” Lin smiled, a small chuckle escaping him in a rush. “It was first rate parental guilt. Luella must have been coaching him.”

“So I guess that means I won’t be able to get you two to stop by the office.”

Lin just stared at her.

Madoka gave her shoulders a slight shrug. “It was worth a shot. You both are still coming to dinner on Wednesday, right? I mean ‘technically’ that’s why you are here, to liaise for Jack’s transition into the job.”

Lin gave a short nod.

“Good.” She picked up her purse and stood. When a thought suddenly occurred to her. “You better not make me sit next to him. Or Mai for that matter. I have a vague memory of wandering hands on the tower case.”

Lin scowled slightly.

Madoka allowed herself a small grin as she made her way back to the door. “I guess I’ll let you go since you have a very busy schedule to keep.”

The brighter light of the hallway flooded in through the cracked door.

“You know, actually something just got moved up and I find myself with a bit of free time.” Lin’s voice was close and deliciously low.

Madoka’s smirk grew. “You don’t say? I had the same thing happen to me.” She responded as she pressed the door closed once more.

*            *            *

“Mai stop wringing your hands like that.” Madoka addressed the younger woman behind her. She offered Mai a quick glace and smile over her shoulder before turning back to look at the semi crowded street in front of them. “And don’t bite your lip, either.”

“Hello.” Mai muttered to herself in English. “Good Evening. How do you do?”

Madoka looked down towards the station hoping to see at least one of their two sets of expected companions.

“Do you think I should curtsy? Yasu said I should curtsy. But John sa—“

“No.” Madoka corrected her, and then she had another thought.

Turning to Mai she asked. “What _else_ did Yasuhara-san tell you to do?” A myriad of unfortunate cultural mishaps filtered through Madoka’s mind.

Mai put her hands on her hips and let out a huff. “Nothing I would actually make the mistake of trying. I’m not an idiot.”

A small scoff turned Mai and Madoka’s attention behind them. Where Oliver and Lin waited a few paces behind them. From the corner of her eye Madoka could see Mai’s posture straighten and the small smile that broke across her face.

Madoka couldn’t help but smile briefly in response.

After a few moments Madoka realized that no one was making any effort to start speaking and despite the joy and friendliness radiating off of Mai silence fell over them like a heavy blanket. Madoka searched for something to say. Introductions were pointless. Companionable conversation seemed to be impossible. Noll appeared to find the street lamp half a block down to be the most interesting thing in the world. Not that she was surprised, but clearly no help there.

Madoka stared at Lin. Eyes widening. Mental arms waving, flailing. If they were sitting at the table, she would have kicked him.

“How have you been Taniyama-san?” Madoka wanted to collapse in relief as Lin spoke. _How hard was that, really?_

“Good. How about you Lin?” Mai smiled at him. “How was England?”

“Cold and then rainy. As to be expected.”

“Oh.” Mai responded. Madoka could feel the conversation dying. She re-uped her staring game.

Lin gave her a brief look of, _what do you want me to do?_

 _I don’t know, but do_ something _!_ She attempted to convey back.

His gaze grew darker and she could feel the, _I_ did _do_ _something_ you _do something._ That he returned.

Madoka opened her mouth hoping to pull something from the awkward ether that surrounded them. But Mai’s cheerful voice cut her off.

“How does it feel to be back, ‘I’m-never-coming-back-san’?”

Madoka felt her grin returning. Small and sweet she may be, but Mai also had quite the backbone.

“Oh no” Mai continued. “I suppose that now it would be ‘I’m-never-coming-back-sensei’. Wouldn’t it?”

Madoka let out a small laugh, Lin allowed a small quirk to his lips.

Leave it to Mai to cut straight to calling out Noll’s bullshit. She didn’t just have a backbone she had balls of steel.

Mai practically glowed with amusement. 

Other than a slight clenching of his jaw Noll gave no indication that he even heard Mai’s teasing. _No fun Noll, you’re no fun._

After another few moments of intense street lamp scrutiny Noll finally turned his gaze to Mai and gave her a slight inclination of his head.

“Good Evening, Taniyama-san.” He murmured before turning back to his inspection across the street.

Mai physically recoiled from the dismissal. A slight gasp escaping her lips, arms wrapping protectively around herself.

 _Oh Noll, no. No._ Madoka watched as the last of the anticipation and happiness in Mai’s face scattered in the light evening breeze.

All of Madoka’s protective instincts were firing. The urge to yell at the young man was so very strong. _Koujo was right, it was hard to be reminded of how young, and foolish, Noll really was._

Once again though Madoka found herself stalled as Mai’s now quieter voice responded. “Good Evening, Dr. Davis. I hope your trip was pleasant.” In clear, confident, English as she bowed deeply.

Madoka reveled in seeing Noll flinch ever so slightly at the returned formality.

“Mai your English is sounding very good.” Lin praised her in the same tongue. 

Mai puffed up a bit at the admiration, the ghost of a smile already returning to her face. “Thank you, Lin. John and Yasu have been helping me.”

Madoka looked over her shoulder once more, reminded that they were currently awaiting those same individuals. Thankfully she spied a rapidly waving hand coming closer through the moderate crowd.

“Oh there’s Yasuhara-san.” She pointed out to her socially struggling companions. Thank goodness. Yasu’s overwhelming charm was just the sort of distraction that this struggling interaction needed.

Towering over the young man’ right shoulder was Jack Murphy. Madoka had wondered briefly if she would remember his visage or not since it had been nearly 4 years ago that she had seen him. She had certainly forgotten how tall of man he was.  He was nearly as tall if not taller than Lin, which stood out in stark contrast to the slighter frames that filled the rest of the street. But where Lin was long and sinewy Jack was solid and filled out though Madoka felt that Jack’s bulk seemed to have taken a turn for the softer in the few years since she had seen him last. The dark brown of his suit coupled with his green tie made the emerald of his eye’s pop in the twilight of the street as he advanced on the group.

 “Mai!” Yasu called out as he finished their approach and came to stop next to her. Leaning over her ear he quickly whispered something that had Mai laughing and good-naturedly pushing him away with an admonishing cry of ‘Yasu!’

Yasuhara in turn threw his hands up in mock shock at her protests.

 _Well, so much for a professional first impression._ Madoka extended her hand.

“Jack so nice to see you again. How was your flight?”

“Long and stuffy. Even first class is getting crowded these days.” Jack told her taking her hand in his and giving it a firm shake.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s alright sweetheart at least the view is getting better.” He smiled at her and Madoka fought hard to keep the smile on her face.

“Yes, well I’m sure you remember Lin and Oliver from our work together in London.” Neither man offered their hands.

Jack smiled and inclined his head in greeting.

“You sure have gotten tall since the last time I saw you kid.” He offered to Noll.

“Yes.” Came the dry reply.

Madoka closed her eyes and prayed they found some way to make it through the evening.

With a cleansing breath, she turned back to her guest. “And this is Taniyama Mai, she is our lead investigator and one of our resident mediums.”

Mai blushed slightly at the titles and mumbled, “I told you not anymore Madoka.”

“Well hello, Miss Taniyama. It’s very nice to meet you. Tell me where do your abilities lay?”

“Uh I have, had, dreams. They are not working very muchly anymore.” Flustered Mai’s command of English began to falter.

“Shall we go in for dinner?” Madoka prompted. Attempting to rescue Mai from the older man’s intense gaze.

Two courses and nearly three bottles of wine later Madoka was finally starting to have hope that they were going to make it through the whole meal without threat to their persons or the property of the establishment they were dinning in.

Conversation had been sparse at best and never progressed further than awkward pleasantries. Madoka could only hope that Jack would brush at least some of it as language barrier. Though the number of fluent English speakers at the table made that excuse run more than a little thin.

On two separate occasions she had to kick Yasuhara under the table as he almost openly mocked an inappropriate comment from Murphy. But both times Yasuhara’s show of innocence and perceived difficulty with the language prevented any actual discontent on Jack’s part. Madoka made a mental note give Yasuhara a stern lecture on the subject of professional curtsy before she left back for London. A lecture and a round of drinks because with those quips he had earned both.

She should have known not to have too much hope for the evening though.

“Mai sweetheart you haven’t even finished your first glass.” Jack called out to the girl across the table from him.  “Drink up we’ve got plenty to go around.” Jack flourished the bottle of wine that had been resting in the ice bucket next to him.

“Oh, I am good, thank you. Not for me.” Mai looked to Madoka on her right and Noll on her left as if for confirmation that she had responded appropriately.

“Come on sweetie live a little. You are young. Being young is all about new experiences.”  Jack pressed.

“She told you no.” Noll’s quiet voice made Madoka’s hand stop as she brought up her next bite. They had been so close. Dessert was nearly on its way.

“I think she can speak for herself Mr. Davis.” Jack retorted. Madoka inwardly flinched at the prefix, but Noll seemed to ignore the insult.

“She did. And she told you no.” Noll informed the older man his voice low. “She’s not even legally supposed to drink.”

“Sure, nobody here cares about that though. The waiters didn’t even flinch. But look at you, you haven’t even touched your cup.”

“That is because alcohol is a crutch employed by the weak minded to avoid their responsibilities.”

The cold silence that enshrouded the table held everyone spell bound as the two men held each other’s gaze. Madoka’s brain flipped into overdrive as she tried to conceptualize a fix for this.

After a long moment Jack laughed, a loud sharp bellowing sound, one meaty fist banging on the table in emphasis.

“Sure, sure it is kid.” Jack laughed for a moment longer then continued. “Sometimes those responsibilities aren’t worth the time though. Those of us who work hard deserve a little break from time to time.”

Mercifully, Noll did not respond.

Madoka quickly jumped in, in an attempt to redirect the tide of the conversation.

“As I was mentioning earlier Jack, I think you will find that we have been very fortunate when it comes to equipment. We have 20 high quality audio enabled camcorders, a dozen thermal imaging cameras, as well as—“

“That’s all well and good sweetheart, but fancy equipment isn’t going to get you ghosts. No you need good old fashioned people power for that.” Jack ripped a chunk of bread from the loaf in front of him as he spoke.

Madoka attempted to clarify. “Well of course a qualified staff is very important, but we do need instrumentation if we are going to collect quantitative data to support and explain what it is that is actually happening.”

“Data.” Jack huffed dismissively as he dipped the bread in the olive oil dish. “Numbers scribbled on a piece of paper don’t mean squat when you’ve got a family scared shitless of living in their own home. What you need is a good medium or an exorcist to get that nasty out of there. Jack shoved the moistened piece in his mouth before continuing. “Taniyama here knows what I am talking about.”

Madoka looked down at her plate and took a deep breath.   _And there it went_. _Any attempt at having a chance at a pleasant end to the evening._

Mai’s eyes went wide as it sunk it that she had somehow been pulled into this fiasco waiting to happen.

“I, uh, I.” Mai floundered.

“Look what good is all that impressive equipment when at the end of the day it’s just going to break or ‘malfunction’ any time something of significance happens. These things are not natural; they are something more than that. It is overly arrogant of us to assume that we can define them. Instead, we need to fight fire with fire. Supernatural critters want to come at us we hit them back with supernaturals of our own.”

              Madoka looked up from her plate and contemplated the two men across the table from her. Neither Lin or Noll seemed to be particularly phased by the comments. She knew they were both masters at masking, but she also knew that even they had a breaking point. And bringing up Oliver’s own research in such a flippant way could very easily be a trigger point. For either man.  He had to have known what he was saying, he must have at least read the into to Noll’s book. To call an attempt to classify the paranormal arrogant. Madoka could not decide if Noll’s silence was a blessing or a time bomb as stillness once again distended over the table.

              “Yes,” Madoka began cautiously. Cursing herself as she spoke. Why couldn’t she just acquiesce for the time being? _Because I shouldn’t have to,_ she reminded herself. More importantly why, the hell, wasn’t Lin chiming in to support her yet. Furthermore, _what_ was keeping Noll’s tongue so locked up? “But when coupled with data collection we can gain an expanded view upon the information received and quantify it. This in turn could garner a greater understanding—“

              “Greater understanding! These things are here to hurt people and they need to get gone. what more information do you need to gather.”

              “I don’t…” Mai’s small voice filtered up in the lull. Madoka’s heart went out to the girl as all eye’s turned to her. All these knowledgeable ‘experts’ at the table and it’s the 17 year old part timer that comes to her rescue. With an audible swallow Mai continued. “I am sorry. I am not sure I understand everything you are saying. I do understand this. Not all spirits are aggressive or hurting to the living.” Madoka fought back the very strong urge to hug Mai. Not only had Mai attempted to save her, but she had become a ghost activist. Madoka knew that there was at least one wayward soul in particular in Mai’s mind as she defended the empathy available to spirits in adorably flawed English.

              “I know you want to think that sweetheart, but just wait till you get a few more years under your belt and you will see that there is no such thing as a friendly ghost. These things aren’t a part of our natural understanding so you can’t begin to comprehend them.”

              Mai thought for a moment, Madoka could practically hear the gears grinding in her head. Before she could craft her response Jack continued.

              “Look it was your own Mr. Davis here that defined the supernatural as something that is undefinable so don’t you worry yourself about all this jargon.”

Noll’s chair scraped as he pushed back from the table. Clearly prepared to rise. But whether he was planning to present a rebuttal or just excuse himself from the situation would remain a mystery. As Mai placed her small hand over his own causing him to halt in his clipped movements.

Noll looked at Mai his eyes wide at her contact, but he did not pull his hand away. Mai did not return his gaze though. She looked down at the table. Her chest rising with a deep breath she brought her gaze up to meet Jack’s. Her hand tightened around Noll’s and a small smirk appeared on her lips. Without looking around her Madoka knew that she wasn’t alone in the rapt attention she now had focused on Mai.

              “I believe Mr. Murphy,” Mai began. “If you checked your source material again you will find that _Dr._ Davis explains that only through scientific, data driven tests can we determine how best to define the phenomena that we are experiencing. You see it is with this research that we can delineate whether something is indeed above classification as you mention or, as the doctor suggests, that some phenomena should instead be regarded as paranormal. As they are not above but merely outside the realm of the normal.” Madoka felt her jaw go slack, gone was Mai’s halting speech, her adorable grammatical mistakes. Mai’s voice was smooth, commanding even. Her English lessons must had been going much better than anyone had implied to Madoka. Mai took a deep breath as the rest of the table collectively held theirs.

              “So no, Sir. I do not agree with your assumption that data collection is useless. In fact, I have come to have great faith in the methodologies both scientific and doctrinal that I have been taught in my time here with the SPR. So I would ask you to not call them into question until you have at least seen us at work.” Mai was trembling slightly in her chair and she kept her eye’s locked on Jack after she finished.

              The sound of a squeaking wheel brought the dessert tray and an unsuspecting waiter to their private room.

              “Would anyone care for a dessert?” The young man probed. Only to be met with utter silence save for Mai’s shallow breaths.

              The waiter looked to Madoka for confirmation as he became aware of the tension he had walked in upon. After a moment of thought she slowly shook her head. _Save yourself._ She silently encouraged the luckless young man.

              As directed he began to pull the cart back from the room when Mai’s hand shot out to point at the cart her eyes still trained on Jack and her voice once again breaking the silence. “I want that chocolate cake. Do not leave this room with that chocolate cake. I _earned_ it.”

Mai’s eyes stayed locked on Jack’s, until once again the older man broke the tension by beginning to laugh. This time they started small, but they quickly built into guffaws that reverberated off the walls of the small room. Mai didn’t move, her finger hovering over the table.

Jack sat up and straightened his jacket as he collected himself. “I think you did sweetheart. I think you did.” Jack told Mai between chuckles. Jack turned his head to the waiter, “I’ll have the tiramisu. Come on now everyone go ahead and order he won’t stay around all night.”

“Lemon cake.” Madoka heard herself respond robotically before she turned her attention back to Mai. _What had just happened?_ Movement slowly returned to the rest of the table. While Mai retreated within herself the realization of what exactly she had just done clearly catching up with her.   Her gaze now intently studying the weave of her napkin in her lap. Her face as bright as the marinara on her plate.

“That is quite a firecracker you got there Davis.”

Mai’s blush deepened at the implied possession. Modoka watched as the awareness that Mai had never moved her hand from atop of Oliver’s dawned on the girl’s face. With a quick jerk she attempted to pull her hand back only to have Noll catch it in his own.

Their eye’s met, a small smirk curling his lips, “‘though she be but little, she is fierce.’” He quoted.

Somehow Mai’s blush deepened and this time Oliver let her hand slip from his own when she tugged it away, before quietly excusing herself from the table.

Jack laughed even harder watching her go, pounding the table once more for emphasis. “Yes, yes. It certainly seems that way. Now everybody eat up! The night is still young.”

 

* * *

 

 

Author’s Note:

Firstly, thank you to all of you for reading!

Some quick notes

            If you want to know more about Noll’s past and about the book that he wrote. There are actual short stories by the Ono sensei, the real author, that are now translated and available for reading. Since ff.net will not allow any kinds of links I can direct you to my tumblr, just search for tiffosan, where I have reblogged the links for these stories. Look for Ghost hunt stuff, under the ghost hunt notes page or the tag ‘mai tea’. If you are feeling adventurous you can also google them yourself, the stories are titled “His Reality” and “The System of the Unexplained Phenomena”. There are more short stories that are still being translated as well.

I used these stories as reference points in deciding that Noll might likely have a dislike for alcohol as well as the subject of his book and the argument it presents.

 


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6- Oliver**

The office was silent. He used to prefer it that way, but now something felt hollow about it. The key felt heavy in his hand and the early morning left most of the space in shadow.

He wasn't _supposed_ to be here.

The furniture was arranged all the same, but there were subtle differences. The light green blanket folded across the couch. A bowl filled with balls made of what appeared to be vines all in bright, eye assaulting, colors sat in the middle of the coffee table. As well as more of what Madoka would have called 'personal touches'. He called them a waste of time and money. Especially if the case track record that Lin had relayed to him had been true. She should have spent more time reviewing her potential cases and less time 'personalizing'.

He felt slightly sick, his stomach knotted. He should have eaten before he left the hotel. He had just stared at the food when it had arrived at his room. Everything had looked fine, but the smell of it had made him recoil and he had ended up leaving the plate untouched.

Making his way across the common space he came to a stop at the desk on the far end of the room.

Despite knowing he was alone, Oliver felt compelled to look around the room before reaching out to run his fingertips along the smooth surface of the glass.

He didn't allow himself to fall fully, instead his view was limited to smatterings of images and emotional bursts. Mai standing in front of the desk, arms wrapped around a pile of file folders held against her chest. Reaching for glasses, cleaning them, and then slipping them back on. The image of Mai becoming so much brighter, her soft smile clearer, her back arched slightly back as she laughed. Oliver realized that this must be Yasuhara's desk now and the expectant contentment he was feeling belonged to him.

Oliver attempted to push deeper to see if there was something further back. The contentment stayed for a while, boredom peppered in occasionally. Suddenly he felt worry, panic almost. As his head was lifted he saw, himself. Standing in the doorway to his old office his fingers gripping the doorframe. He looked a mess. He was clearly trying to keep some vestiges of control.

Oliver quickly realized he needed to pull back. He had gone to deep.

Sadness poured in, sadness and perhaps even pity.

_I shouldn't have done this. I should not be here._

Oliver felt an extremely strong urge to comfort the version of himself that stood before him.

_No, I need to pull out._

He watched as his own eyes turned towards him. They looked so cold, but so full of pain. He hadn't looked that obvious had he?

_No!_

With a slight gasp he found himself once again looking down at the desk and not up from it. He was half slumped over the desk. His knees having gone weak as his mind drifted farther away. The hand he had rested on the glass to read the desk was now joined by it's lower arm as it attempted to support his wavering form.

Pushing up off of the desk he stood.

He had to get out of here.

Coming back was a bad idea. He had committed himself to leaving. To keeping his word to ascertain what it was that was happening and to prevent it from continuing.

He should have never let his father talk him into this.

He should have never agreed—

The sound of the key in the front door halted his growing concern.

He took three strides towards the door to his old office and had grasped the handle when the front door opened.

There was a small release of air that brushed against his back as she walked in.

He knew she had seen him as the diminishing beam of light that had accompanied the closing door halted. A bright stripe standing out on the walk next to him.

Part of his brain called for him to look over his shoulder to ascertain the identity of the other person in the room. But he already knew.

"Naru." Her soft voice confirming what the lead in his gut had proposed.

He should not look at her; he _would not_ look at her.

Oliver turned the handle and allowed the door in front of him to swing open. Stepping into the newly opened space.

Her voice stopped him as he went to close the door behind him.

"I'll bring you some tea in a few minutes."

He gave a curt nod and closed the door. The small barrier between then offering little comfort.

Looking into the room he found that Madoka had changed relatively little in this space as well. His desk was still in its place in the center of the room, the now mostly empty bookshelves lining the walls, the small pain mirror nestled— He scowled, what was that doing up? He had taken that down before he left.

He knew that he had. He could still feel the smooth dryness of the box in his hand as he had carried it into the office, refusing to watch Mai finish packing his things with that flush coloring her face. He had looked up only to see that infuriating smirk on Gene's face in the mirror.

He wasn't dumb, he understood. He wasn't surprised Mai's blush and Gene's smile merely confirmed his previous conclusions.

At the same time, he was very busy and the idea of listening to his brother gloat was maddening. So he had done the only thing he could think of, he took down the mirror. Leaning its reflective surface against the wall. The whole experience had been exhausting for some reason and he had found himself just sitting in his chair until Lin knocked to tell him it was nearly time to leave. The last of his notebooks forgotten.

But now, here was the mirror hanging again. He felt an unfounded rage flare briefly. A sudden urge to smash the glass in front of him. It was all this mirror's fault. If this mirror had not been here he never would have agreed—

 _Overreacting accomplishes nothing_ , he reminded himself willfully unclenching his fist.

Why was it so hard? A pointless question really. He knew the truth of it.

Because now that he was back a part of him didn't want to leave again. A terrible, abhorrent, beastly, very large part of him.

This was _his_ work. He had convinced himself that he was ok with giving it up, but now that he was here standing in this space. The thought of it being in anyone else's hand riled him. Even worse for it to fall into the hands of that ridiculous twat.

He couldn't help but smirk as he thought about Mai telling that misbegotten prick off last night. But he quickly wiped the amusement from his mind, he shouldn't have let her touch him. That had been a mistake. He could hear her words reverberate in his skull as she had spoken.

Her hand had been so warm. Once again he had felt no pull when she had touched him. How was she managing that, if anything he had feared that with the transference her touch would be even more likely to have caused a vision.

So many questions.

Then the color that had flared in her face afterwards. Did she practice how to appear endearing?

Lin had asked him why he had grabbed Mai's hand as she had attempted to remove it. Oliver told him that he was testing the connection, by sending her a message. And while true, he would never admit that the action had been done it before he had even realized he was moving. He had just felt that presence slipping away so he had reached out for it.

Like an idiot.

He needed to get out of here. Research, training, or any other excuses be damned he shouldn't stay. He was losing control of the situation.

He shook himself, attempting to clear away the emotional debris that clung so desperately to him. His own displeased face stared back at him from the cursed object in front of him.

Deciding that was enough he reached out to once more remove the looking glass. But he had made a mistake, whether from the emotional confusion or just a sense of tiredness. As he brought the glass from the wall he felt himself begin to fall, pulled down, into the vision.

 _Oliver placed the phone back in its cradle and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why couldn't they just understand that his work was here now. There was nothing left for him back there. Yes, there was his doctorate he supposed his father was right about that. But he could do all the research he needed right here. He was practically done already. It would make sense that he fly back for his defense, but that wouldn't be for months at the very least and he could just fly in to give his presentation and fly back, it would take a week, tops. He didn't_ belong _there any longer. He had never really belonged anywhere and now that place, like all the spaces before it, had served its purpose in his life._

_Oliver rubbed his face in an effort to clear away what his brother would have told him was guilt._

_Gene would have been right._

_He was always right about that kind of thing. Oliver could get published and finish a doctorate in his teens, but he could never beat Gene at understanding emotions, even his own. Gene always knew what was happening to him well before he ever had. In fact, he might never have realized what he was feeling at all if Gene was not there to tell him._ Gene had known. _His mind corrected. Now all he had to rely on were extrapolations based on remembered conversations. He was doomed. His hand clenched at his hair almost impulsively as a feeling of deep discontentment filled him once more._

_Oliver rolled his shoulders to remove the distracting melancholy that threatened. Turning his head to the mirror on the wall, Oliver checked to ensure that he hadn't left his hair standing on end with his momentary dip into despair. But no, his hair seemed perfect as always._

_Even if a large chuck of bangs had fallen in front of his eye. He moved to brush it away only to realize his view of the mirror was unobstructed. Not surprisingly the fingers that had reached to move the bangs met nothing and the questing digits were nowhere to be found in his reflective image._

_His duplicate smiled and Noll's somber expression darkened._

_"I am not really inclined to speak with you right now Gene."_

_"Is that anyway to greet your dear older brother?" Gene's grin widened his voice teasing._

_"I am not in a good mood Gene, mother and father are breathing down my neck about returning to England, I have work to do, and I am not very pleased with you in particular right now." He told his now smirking twin._

_"What did I do? I just woke up. Do you know how difficult it is to get through to you? If you would try to focus just a little bit more this wouldn't be so demanding."_

_"That did not mean you needed to go and open up the channel to Mai, we weren't even on a case." Oliver grumbled. "There was no reason for you to expose her to_ that _dream_ _." Oliver could feel his voice dropping in tone as well as volume._

 _"What are you— I told you I_ just _woke up. I didn't open up anything." Gene stopped and stared at his brother. "You, you shared a vision? With Mai? But how?"_

 _Oliver looked away from the mirror. Truly, he had_ _known_ _it hadn't been Eugene that last time. Something about it. He had just_ known _, but he hadn't wanted it to be true._

_"I haven't figured that out yet, I had hoped you would tell me I was mad and that it had been you." Thinking about it again made his stomach clench. Why couldn't it have been Gene._

_"What was It like? What happened?" Gene's voice had a sense of wonder in it that Oliver used to revel in. That was the way Gene had sounded when Oliver's research had actually caught Gene's interest._

_Another heavy pause and Gene asked the question Oliver knew he would. "Was it, bad?"_

_Oliver closed his eyes and kept his head turned away. Refusing to acknowledge the question. He couldn't look at his brother right now. Gene would see it; he_ always _saw it. Instead he shrugged slightly._

_"Noll," Gene's voice took on a serious tone that Oliver remembered all too well. "It wasn't, bucket bad, was it?"_

_Oliver felt himself flinch at the word._

_"Oh Shit." Gene breathed._

Damn you, mutinous body! _Oliver cursed. If only Gene had asked more directly, he probably could have prevented a reaction. He simply hadn't been prepared to be reminded of all of those times, waking up to Gene standing over him asking. 'bucket?' That one word meant everything in those situations._

_After Oliver had gotten sick the first time he had experienced a sexual assault that word became the first thing Gene would ask Oliver as he regained himself from going under._

_'Bucket', not pail as they had come to be accustomed to calling the object in their home with the Davises. No this linguistic throwback was their password of sorts. Meant to convey the real question which both parties wanted to remain unspoken._

_"I've seen worse." Oliver attempted in what he knew would be a wasted effort to belittle the situation._

_"You've seen worse! What about her! Christ Noll, did you at least talk to her about it?" Eugene's voice was rising in volume as well as pitch. Shifting quickly from concern to accusation._

_"What would there have been to talk about?"_

_"What would— If I weren't fucking dead I would deck you so bloody hard right now. Do you even hear yourself when you talk?"_

_Oliver whipped his head around and glared at his brother. His guilt and shame replaced with white hot rage._

_"What should I have said Gene? I don't know how to fucking do this!" Oliver was surprised to find himself standing now. He clenched shaking fists at his side and heard the precarious tinkling of his tea cup vibrating in its saucer._

" _Well that's fucking obvious." Gene muttered._

_Oliver stared at his brother, a large part of him willing Gene to say something more. Say something to push him over that edge and open the flood gates that stood between him and the mass of energy that threated him every day of his life. Consequences to his person be damned. At least it would be over._

_But Eugene didn't acquiesce to Oliver's silent pleas. Instead Gene's eyes softened and his jaw came unset._

_"Come here," Gene told him softly. "You're shaking like a leaf."_

_"I'm fine." Oliver lied. Arms still squeezed tightly to his sides as he felt the tremors flow through him._

_"Yes, the china is clearly just in a dancing mood." Gene admonished him._

_Oliver refused to look at the tea cup which he could still hear rattling. He would handle it on his own, he had to handle it on his own. He couldn't afford to rely on Gene any more._

_"I think I can take the edge off. Just get over here you idiot scientist." Gene waved him over towards the mirror, then placed his hand against the far side and waited for Oliver to approach._

_He was so tired. Maybe just this one last time he could rely on Gene, just a little. He crossed the short space to the mirror and pressed his palm against the cold glass._

_He nearly sighed aloud when he felt the energy start to seep out of him. Oliver's eyes slid shut and the rest of his body began to relax. The tiredness going with it._

_But the relief was not to last._

_"What are you going to do about it?" Gene asked softly. "Noll, what—_

_"I don't know. I'll have to research it. It will take time." Oliver opened his eyes and looked at his brother._

_"You don't really have time. What if it happens again?"_

_"I will just have to make sure it doesn't." Oliver hoped he sounded far more confident than he felt._

" _No." Gene's voice was firm once more. "No, you don't get to use her as a ginny pig to test how well you can control your abilities." Gene glared at Oliver._

_Oliver tried, but failed, not to be offended by the idea. "I was not plan—"_

" _Not with Mai Noll. Please, not Mai." Gene's voice wavered and his face betrayed a pain that mirrored an ache Oliver felt deep within himself._

_Oliver took his hand from the glass and stepped back from the mirror._

" _What would you have me do? I cannot guarantee— I thought it was you, but now that we know it can happen without you. If she's nearby and I see something—"_

" _Then don't let her be nearby." Gene provided._

" _I'm not going to fire her just to keep her safe. That doesn't really help her, besides we don't know how long this tether is." Oliver dismissed him. Gene was getting too emotionally involved and he wasn't thinking straight._

_Gene was silent for a moment, but still too quickly he had an answer._

" _Then we leave. Let's go home. Isn't that what mother and father are on you about anyway?"_

_Oliver froze, he couldn't, he said he wouldn't— He shook his head._

" _Noll this is Mai we are talking about; don't you care? Do you really want her to live though that? Don't you remember what it was like?"_

" _Of course I remember," Oliver felt his own voice raising once again to match his brother's. "Of course I don't want—I'm not actually heartless, I do—"._

" _Then remove the problem. At least until you can figure out what is going on." Gene's voice was cold. Oliver tried to ignore the twinge of pain that came with the understanding of where his brother's loyalties lay. This was no time to be distracted though, there was a problem at hand and Gene had proposed a solution._

 _Oliver paced the room. Gene had a point, but that didn't mean he had to like it. It_ would _prevent further contamination, but it would also be difficult to gather data on the phenomena if he wasn't there to witness it. No, Gene was right. Data collection was not worth the potential damage continued exposure could have on her psyche._

_Oliver stopped and straightened his back. Attempting to gather back the small pieces of his rational self that had attempted to flee. He kept his back to the mirror he couldn't look at Gene right now, couldn't see the understanding that he knew he would see in his brother's face._

_Oliver took a deep breath and let it out with a curt nod._

" _I want to hear you promise me Noll." Gene told him._

" _Sure." Oliver tossed out still refusing to turn around._

" _Look at me Noll."_

_Oliver looked at the ceiling momentarily, but then did as he was bid and turned back to his brother. "I promise. I will figure this out."_

" _Tell me," Gene swallowed and looked away for the briefest of seconds. When he turned back he stared at Oliver with a gaze so intense Noll couldn't remember if he had ever seen Gene look at him that way before._

" _Tell me you are going to stay away from her." Gene demanded._

_Oliver could feel the rage start to flare again. Remove himself from Mai's life?_

_He knew this day would come eventually. He always lost everyone. Still, he didn't need to be reminded that he was a monster, destined to destroy anyone around him if he didn't push them away fast enough. For once he didn't care as his face contorted, twisted with the unwelcome truth._

" _Hate me all you want Noll, but promise me."_

_His mouth was heavy and dry, his lips like lead weights that refused to function properly. That dull ache had grown. Spread out from his chest. His whole body hurt, he couldn't move. He just wanted to lie down. If he rested for a while. It would stop. It would stop and he would be able to think clearly._

" _Noll…" Gene prompted._

" _I will. I will remove myself, from the situation." The words came out haltingly, but he got them out. He stared into his brother's matching blue eyes as he finished and he saw that Gene knew he had meant them._

" _Thank you, big brother." Gene said giving him a sad smile. The weight of the appreciation coupled with the title nearly knocked the air from Oliver's lungs._

_With that blow Gene was gone and Oliver was left staring back at a version of his brother's face that made him sick. He turned his head quickly in repulsion._

_Two strides took him to the door, he took one last deep breath before he opened it. Careful to look anywhere other than at the desk to the left hand side of the room. He tried desperately to control the raging disquiet that he couldn't name inside of himself. He gripped the doorframe and willed whatever it was that was happening to him to cease._

_He turned his head slightly and his disloyal eyes instantly locked on the one thing he meant to avoid. Mai stared back at him with confusion or perhaps even fear shimmering in her eyes._ You should fear me. _He thought briefly. And the thought made the queasy slickness in the back of his throat grow._

_"Mai?" Her name rasped as he forced it out. He needed to divert her, engage her, anything to get her to stop looking at like him like she finally knew the disgusting truth about him._

_She didn't respond only continued to stare. His defenses flared, fear sending his heart into overdrive._

_"Mai." He snapped._ Stop it! Don't look at me like that. _His mind was reeling. So he pulled out the only weapon he always had available._

" _I am talking to you. People with functioning brains, they usually respond when addressed." He chided._ People with functioning brains, they usually run once they know what I really am. _He finished to himself._

_The cut worked, she was distracted enough that her eyes glazed over momentarily._

_They cleared as she said, "Oh, yes sorry. What is it, Naru? How can I help you?" and he was met with a warm gaze and small smile that made him want to temporarily forget everything else._

_His mistep into contentment lead him to a sudden terrible thought._ She would never run. Even if she knew.

_Mai always took care of everyone. She didn't run away like a sane person would._

_The only way he could save her would be to force her hand. Gene was right, he had to leave._

_A rush filled his ears as the overwhelming tide of emotions that had been threating to drown him let out and a great hollow emptiness crashed in to take its place._

What does it mean when I can't feel anything at all, Gene?

_Swallowing, Oliver brushed the thought away and turned back to the task at hand. "Yasuhara isn't here right now…"_

"Naru! Naru are you ok?"

Oliver blinked, he was on the floor. The mirror laying on his chest. He went to move it, but his arms hurt. His joints burned. A metallic taste filled his mouth.

He pushed up on the mirror again. With too great of an effort he was able to lift it from his chest. The glass had a large crack snaking down it's middle. He stared at the distorted reflection.

Mai came into view kneeled beside him. She reached for the mirror, but a spark flew as she neared his hand. With a loud crack another fissure appeared in the mirror. Mai instinctually drew her hand back.

With what strength he could muster Oliver threw the mirror and heard it shatter only a few feet away.

Recovering quickly, Mai's attention turned back to his prone form. Like an idiot she reached for him again.

"Don't." He warned her as he pushed himself up to a seated position. "I'm not safe."

Mai blanched slightly, but didn't argue. Instead she just stared at him with infuriating concern growing on her features.

Oliver pushed himself up the rest of the way and noticed the cup of tea on the desk. Reaching for it, the familiar motion reminded him that this was in fact not his office anymore. Why had he even come in here? Habit perhaps.

Cup in hand, he took one last survey of the room. His eye's ending on Mai's fake smile. The warm porcelain of the cup was beginning to burn his fingers, but he couldn't move. Once again she had effectively trapped him. How did she manage that? Was it some sort of mental ability that had yet to be defined? Why did she smile when it was so clear that she did not wish to?

 _I shouldn't be here,_ he reminded himself. And with marked effort he pulled his eyes away from hers and started out of the room. Switching the tea into his other hand he started from the room.

Mai's voice soon followed behind him. "I have notes on potential new cases if you would like to look them over?"

He stopped for a moment. Then once again gave a curt nod. It was why he was here. He couldn't 'train' Murphy if they didn't actually go on cases. The sooner they got a case the sooner he could get out of here and back to his research.

Stopping to put his tea down on the coffee table, he took off his coat.

"I'll trade you." Mai offered holding out some folders piled atop a clipboard and an empty hand expectant for the coat.

Oliver took the folders and he could feel the heat from her fingers, so close to his own. S _tay away from her._ That slick feeling started growing in his throat again.

Trading his coat off to her, his stomach dropped and the queasiness grew. He must have exerted himself more than he realized. With a slight tug he was able to remove her hand from the clipboard. He watched the case packets move closer to him. Not looking up, careful not to get ensnared by whatever power her gaze held.

She snared him anyway as her soft voice stopped him from sitting on the couch.

"It's nice," She ventured. "Everybody getting to work together again."

He thought for a moment, fingers rubbing along the pressboard of the clipboard.

"Yes, it is." He admitted, staring at the press made compacted pulp slate that in no way resembled the integral part of nature it used to be.

Devoid of reason, his eyes traveled up until he was once again entangled. Her smile was genuine this time and it widened as his gaze met her own. He felt the small corresponding twinge in his own lips.

_So much for promises._

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Well that was a peach. I had planned some version of the flashback scene for a long time now, but nothing ever felt right. Then this quote, "I betrayed myself, so I could be loyal to you." Came across my tumblr dash with the tag "Naru to Gene" and the whole scene was there. Vividly in my mind. I may have teared up and I certainly got nauseous as it wrote it, it was suddenly so real. I just felt compelled to share the creative process for this part, because it just goes to show you that you never know when inspiration is going to sucker punch you in the gut.

On Gene and Noll's birth order. As was revealed in the recently translated story "His Reality" Noll is actually the older of the twins, but Gene was listed as the first born to follow the Japanese tradition of naming the second born as the first. Noll himself mentions that his has to do with the fact that "a child who pushed their sibling aside in order to be born first was not worthy of being called the elder brother". So regularly Noll and Gene refer to each other in this fashion. In that last moment though I felt that Gene would feel it was more important to acknowledge Noll correctly as a sign of his appreciation for the promise that Noll was making at that moment.

So yeah lets think about the last few chapters with this new chapter's information in mind. Hopefully some of you will forgive Noll a bit for his behavior. Sorry, this little boy still has a long way to go when it comes to interacting with people. :)

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and I wish you all a fantastic New Year. Remember _this_ is your year!


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7-Mai

Mai tugged down on the hem of her uniform top. The seam had been stabbing her in the armpit ever since lunch. Maybe Ayako was right and she should have gotten a new one at the next size up. It seemed to fit just fine at the end of last term, so getting another had appeared to be a waste of money. Today though, it pinched and chafed seemingly whenever possible. It was not a good way to start out her last year of school.

She wasn't going to stretch the cloth as much as she needed in the next five minutes so she gave up the pointless effort and took comfort in the change of clothes she had tucked away in her bag for later. High school uniforms were not the most confidence-instilling to prospective clients or new bosses, after all. She wanted to look professional for her workday at the office. Now her anticipation was much more personally motivated. If it had just been her and Madoka still she could have gotten away without a bra as well as more comfortable clothes.

_Oh the good old days_ , she chuckled lightly to herself. _Before the prick and the asshole._ Though Mai couldn't decide which one was Naru and which one was Jack. For once having to be away from the office for school wasn't seeming like such a bad deal.

_Those are your bosses_ , she reminded herself, attempting to reign in her criticism before she made the fatal mistake and said something out loud. Again.

But better not to think about last week.

Luckily, Jack had been more than willing to laugh off whatever kind of mental relapse she had been suffering from at that moment. It was one thing to insult Naru, but insulting Jack was something else entirely. _Even if he is an idiotic misinformed bigot,_ Mai thought to herself.

Mai stopped walking and took a deep breath. She had to get that out of her head. She never even should have thought it. It was just mean, most likely true, but mean. And she wasn't mean. The school day must have taken more out of her than she thought.

The sign for the bakery below the office caught her attention. That was what she needed: a snack. She just needed to get her blood sugar back up and she would be good as new. She diverted from her path and headed for the bakery door. Mai decided to splurge and got three freshly made mochi, which were so much more delicious than the prepackaged ones she occasionally got from the convenience store near her apartment.

"Oh and a croissant, please," Mai added.

Chiyako, the owner, smiled at her and reached back into the display case. "So he _is_ back," Chiyako said, gently wrapping the pastry. "I thought I saw him day before yesterday, but I can't always trust my eyes at a distance anymore."

Mai had been thinking about her classes and hadn't been paying attention to the conversation. So she just smiled back. What was Chiyako talking about?

"You just take these on the house today dear, you look like you have enough on your plate.," Chiyako offered. Mai looked down at herself, did her uniform _look_ ill-fitting as well? Mai ran a self-conscious hand over her top and then through her hair for good measure.

"Obaa-san, what?" She stopped when she noticed the large grin on Chiyako's face. Mai wondered if she should be worried about Chiyako.

"Don't let him push you around too much." Chiyako gave Mai a quick wink and a small bow, "Thank you for your patronage." She added before stepping into the back, abandoning Mai.

Dumbfounded, Mai shook her head and grabbed her bag from the counter, making her way up the stairs and to the office.

The main room was empty, but Mai couldn't help but feel the fullness of the office. The life that came from the nearly imperceptible tapping of keys on a keyboard, the slight squeaking of chairs, and the soft rustle of moving papers. No, the office wasn't empty despite the visual evidence to the contrary. With lighter steps Mai arrived in the kitchenette and began preparing her snack.

Slight shuffling brought Mai's attention to a dejected looking Yasuhara who had just joined her in the kitchenette.

"Oh Mai, you're here. Save me," Yasuhara said dramatically, leaning against the counter top.

"How's the case review going? Did Naru find anything worth looking at?" Mai asked as she poured steaming water from the kettle.

"I don't know Mai, I mean we thought Naru was picky, but Murphy-san has turned down all 5 of the cases that Naru has considered looking into. At this rate the only skillset I am going to gain from working here is how to hide the body of a murdered foreign national without getting caught."

Mai laughed softly. "Which one of them is going to kill the other?"

Yasuhara smiled and considered the idea for a moment. "I mean, I would put my money on the big boss, but you and I both know it's the idiots who end up surviving."

Mai worked to keep her smile on her face, though something about what Yasu said seemed unpleasantly familiar. "So it sounds like we are stuck with both of them, then."

Yasu smiled far too contentedly for Mai's comfort as he reached for her bakery bag on the counter. "How was the first day of school?" he asked, the rustling of the bag nearly drowning him out as he inspected its contents. "Did you talk to them about university?"

Mai let out a soft sigh. "They said it was 'highly unlikely'. I wasn't on track for university before this year and it would take a lot of work to even attempt to catch up enough to get ready for the exams."

Yasu stopped in his exploration of the bag and looked back at Mai, his face surprisingly earnest. Mai looked back at the counter. She did want him to see the disappointment. She knew better than to be disappointed. Going to university was something she had never really planned on anyway, but hearing that it wasn't a possibility still hurt. "It's alright," she said. "I had always assumed I would work after high school anyway. I mean I was already working here" Her hands slid along the counter top "and I had thought…" _That I was home_ , she finished silently.

"Don't worry about me, Yasuhara. You just worry about your own classes. You start again next week, right?"

Yasu smiled at her and nodded before turning back to her bakery bag. "We do have a potential client coming in this afternoon though," he offered as he peered into the now open bag. "He called earlier and Murphy-san told me to 'book him' before Naru had the chance to argue."

Yasuhara placed a wrapped bundle on the counter and dove back in after the box of mochi. Mai's next glance was met with large round eyes shining back at her questioningly.

"Yes, you can have one. Why do you think I got three?" Mai laughed. She reached for another plate and pointlessly passed it to the older boy, who already had the sweet out of its box and in his mouth. "Can you put mine on a plate or will it magically disappear before it gets there?" Mai asked.

"I make no promises," Yasu responded with a smirk, but placed another of the mochi on the plate in his hand.

Mai crumpled up the bakery's wrappings and threw them and the used tea leaves in the waste. Grabbing the plate and tea cup from the counter, she turned to leave. It wasn't until she crossed into her office that she remembered that the space was currently occupied. Naru sat at her desk, his and Lin's heads bent together as Lin pointed at the file in front of them.

Mai froze, her breath catching in her throat.

_Naru was bent nearly double under some unknown weight, sweat on his brow and pain in his eye. The room was in chaos, the air felt electric and dried her throat. Lin's voice crashed through her skull, "Noll, stop this!" But how? How could it stop? It was so much, too much, and it was tearing him apart. She could feel it tearing him apart._

_Why wasn't anyone doing something? Someone had to do something. She reached for him. Her fingers froze and burned._ We are going to be ok. _She reassured herself and pushed forward._

"Mai?"

Mai jumped. Her heart was pounding, her lungs screamed for breath, and she opened her eyes.

She was in her office. There was no fireplace and while there were books and papers strewn about the room they were all blissfully still. Her relief faded as she noticed all eyes on her.

_It was just a dream, Mai. Naru is fine. He is even glaring at you._ Mai took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. The silence in this room was deafening. Mai could feel the panic starting to creep back. Why were they all looking at her?

"What?" she snapped at the others. Her cheeks burned and her hands itched to cool them.

"Mai, are you ok?" Yasuhara asked. Mai turned to look up into his concerned face. "I can make the boss another cup of tea if you want to change."

Mai stared at Yasu for a moment longer before she realized the cold she had felt in her dream wasn't fading away. With a groan she looked down and confirmed that she was indeed covered in rapidly cooling tea. Where had the tea come from? She looked at the overturned cup that rested in its saucer as more of the liquid slipped down her fingers. That wasn't her mug. When had she made that?

"Here." Yasu reached for her other hand and came away with a small plate carrying a plain croissant. She hated plain croissants, they were too dry. She only ate the filled ones. When had she gotten—

" _Oh and a croissant, please."_

_Chiyako smiled at her as she reached back into the display case._

_Oh no!_ Mai felt the flush grow. _OH NO!_ Had she just bought food for Naru?A shiver reminded her of her dampened condition. _And made him tea?_ No, she was making her own snack, she was—

Mai looked at Yasuhara who was now balancing her mochi plate and Naru's croissant in one hand and her mug in his other. Oh, she needed to sit down. The room was so small. They were all so close. When had the room shrunk? This was bad, this was weird.

How could she come back from this?

She stared at the treats awaiting inspiration or the end. Luckily, her muse struck first. Placing the tea mess on the end table, she took the two plates from Yasu and placed them down in front of Lin and Naru—who, in turn, only continued to stare at her.

"Knowing you two, you probably forgot to eat again. So here," Mai said. She turned, scooped up the cup and saucer and passed it to Yasu while taking her mug from him with her other hand. With an audible clunk she placed her mug in front of Lin. She could make herself another cup of tea.

"Now before you complain Naru, Yasuhara already offered to make you more tea so you will just have to wait a minute," Mai told him before once again turning away and pushing Yasuhara towards the door and sweet, sweet freedom.

They were nearly back to the kitchenette when she very faintly heard Naru's voice. "I was hungry."

Mai's head snapped back, ready to argue if he was trying to start something. But Naru wasn't smirking at her, he was looking at Lin who was scowling back. Then they both eyed the croissant askance.

Mai sighed. The idiocy of smart people would never cease to amaze her.

Two hours later Mai was reading through some old cases of her own when the door opened to reveal their anticipated client. He only hesitated for a moment, before stepping into the office.

"Welcome to SPR," Mai greeted him.

His suit was well cut and his hair clearly styled. His eyes scanned the room, appraising. Turning his gaze back to her he flashed a bright smile. Mai could tell he was someone who was at ease with the attention of those around him.

The infant clutched to his chest, softened some of the commanding aura that surrounded him though and Mai found herself smiling back.

"I am Oshiro Kastuo. I have an appointment." He attempted a slight bow, but his attachment made for limited movement.

"It's nice to meet you Oshiro-san," Mai replied with a deeper bow. "I am Taniyama Mai. Please come in and have a seat." She couldn't help but wave at the baby as she showed the client and his human accessory to the couches. Yasuhara was already knocking on the office doors to inform every one of their guest's arrival.

"Would you like any tea?" Mai asked once he was settled.

"No, thank you." His tone was brisk, but not harsh. From the closer vantage point Mai decided that what she had thought was annoyance in his eyes might had been weariness instead.

"Mai!" Jack's heavy voice nearly knocked Mai over.

"Yes?" Mai asked as she worked to calm her easily frazzled nerves.

"Did you offer the man a drink?" Jack demanded in English.

"Yes," Mai responded in the same language. Jack's insistence that they use English with him until he 'got this Japan stuff under his belt' had been a welcome challenge at first, but was quickly losing its novelty.

Jack raised an eyebrow.

Mai looked at his shoulder. She felt his gaze still on her.

"Yes, sir," she corrected.

"Good, good. Then why don't you help out and take care of that baby so we can discuss Mr. Osho's case." Jack settled into Naru's armchair at the head of the furniture set.

"It's actually Oshiro, sir." Yasuhara added quickly.

"Sure, Sure. Kaza, or whatever it is you call yourself here, sit down so we can get started. You too Lin. We don't want to waste this man's time. Yasu, get me some coffee."

Mai bit her lip to keep herself from scowling. She had to learn to control herself. She couldn't blow up at her boss in front of their potential client. Forcing a smile onto her face, she turned back to the client. "Oshiro-san, if you would like, I could hold your baby while you speak with us. She is very cute, what is her name?" Mai asked in Japanese.

"Akemi," he answered, dazed. Thankfully his English appeared to be extremely limited or non-existent so the conversation around him had left him confused and not insulted.

"That is a beautiful name," Mai told him. "Do you mind if I take her for you?"

Oshiro looked unsure.

"Oshiro-san I can assure you Mai is a very responsible individual and is quite adored by children," Naru cut in. "Furthermore, as I can only assume that the incidents that you have come to speak with us about today are of an unsettling nature, perhaps it would be best if you let Taniyama-san occupy Akemi's time."

Mai's mouth fell open at Naru's words. Was Naru endorsing her childcare skills? Did he just call her _responsible_? Naru must have been desperate for this case if he was willing to complement her to improve their chances of getting it.

Oshiro-san passed Akemi over to Mai and Mai promptly found herself with two small fingers invading her nostrils.

Introductions went around as Mai and Akemi settled on the floor on the far end of the room. Mai had laid out her skirt earlier in an attempt to get it to dry faster. Now it proved to be an adequate baby distraction as Akemi rested on her belly and bunched the cloth in her hands.

"When did the disturbances begin?" Naru asked Oshiro-san. Naru's voice caught Mai's attention and she attempted to keep one ear on the conversation.

"Sometime in the last few months," Oshiro-san replied. "We moved into the home a little over a year ago. We had been looking for a larger place as my wife Rio and I had just found out we were pregnant."

Mai watched her young charge as the others continued, playfully booping the girl's nose with her finger. The infant smiled and let out a giggle, before shoving Mai's school skirt into her mouth as much as she could. Gumming the garment ferociously, Akemi let out a squeal of delight. _Well, it already needed a wash,_ Mai reminded herself with a smile.

"These are fairly typical signs of potential activity, but I cannot say that you have anything which presents this as a threat," Mai overheard Naru say. She tried not to sigh too loudly at Naru's insensitivity.

"You have to understand, I didn't believe it myself," Oshiro san protested his voice loosing it's confident cadence. "I thought perhaps it was the stress of being home all day with the baby. So my brother came to live with us, but Rio only seemed to get more nervous, mention more occurrences. And then just a week or so ago I woke up in the middle of the night because I could hear this awful sound. It was dry and hollow. It turned to ask Rio if she heard it. And it was her. She was choking. I could see all the muscles in her throat straining."

Mai felt a familiar knot of fear twist in her stomach.

"I didn't know what to do. I shook her. I looked for what she could be choking on, but there was nothing. Thankfully it passed a few moments later and Rio came back, gasping and crying. Ranting how she couldn't stay in the house any longer," Oshiro said quickly, the panic driving the words out faster and faster as he spoke.

Mai turned her attention back the baby before her. She knew she should keep listening; Naru would be pissed that she was neglecting her work. But truth be told she didn't want to hear it. Violent spirits were definitely the worse cases. They had been so lucky while Naru was away—it had been nothing but duds and low level hauntings. Easy, relatively speaking.

_Maybe, you aren't cut out for this,_ Mai said silently to herself _._

It wasn't the first or even the hundredth time she had had the thought. But recently it seemed to hold a lot more weight. Despite her own faults SPR had always felt like where she belonged. Now when she thought about leaving she didn't feel that familiar tug though. That curt voice telling her _don't be an idiot, Mai, just get back to work._

Yasu kneeled down next to her and held up a shortbread biscuit.

"I don't think she is old enough for biscuits, Yasu," Mai said.

"Did I say it was for her? I figured a good little doggy deserved a biscuit."

Mai's face dropped. Her back straightened at the implication. "That's not funny."

"No it's not, I shouldn't let Murphy-san treat me like that, should I?" Yasu finished and popped the treat in his own mouth. He stared at her as he chewed and she felt her stomach sour further.

"Look," he started. "I know you thought you would be here, but plans change. Don't give up on university, you still have a chance. Who knows, maybe we can study together. Then we could go into business and become the greatest power couple Japan has ever seen. I promise I will do my best to keep my tryst with Bou-san a secret from the media." Yasu winked and grinned mischievously. Mai shook her head, giving him a gentle—but enough to cause him to lose his balance—shove.

"Is that a no?" Yasuhara asked from the floor. Akemi let out another delighted squeal at Yasuhara's misfortune and Mai couldn't hold her smile back any longer.

"Ask me again some time," Mai said dismissively. Yasu waggled his eyebrows suggestively at the response before turning his attention to the miniature human next to his head. Mai watched as Akemi rolled onto her side and looked back at Yasu. The balance proved too tricky for the little one and she soon completed the roll and wound up on her back. Small hands reached out for Yasuhara's nose and, upon acquisition of the object, squeezed tightly.

Yasu let out a low, distorted laugh and Mai joined him. It could be nice, his plan. But she knew he didn't really mean it. She knew it the same way she knew he never expected her to actually accept. He was just trying to take her mind off of things. That was what Yasuhara did.

"Oh, no, no, don't do that." Yasu's voice brought Mai's attention back to the pair who were now locked in an epic battle for Yasuhara's glasses. Yasu held his glasses in one hand and was trying to peel back pudgy fingers with the other. "Baby hands are like little vises. Tiny, highly breakable, vises. Mai, some help, please."

Mai swooped in to rescue her friend from baby subjugation. "Come here, Akemi." Mai tickled the baby's ribs to loosen her fingers from their prey. Once the spectacles had been relinquished to their proper owner Mai lifted the babe to her lap. "You don't want to touch that yucky Yasu. He's stinky," Mai said, scrunching her face in emphasis and provoking another round of giggles from the girl. Yasu pouted further in response.

"Mai." Mai looked up to find Lin standing over her and was rewarded for her shifted attention with Akemi grabbing her lip.

"Yes?" she asked around a mouthful of baby fingers.

"Oshiro-san is ready to leave," Lin told her, holding out a hand to help her up from the floor. Mai gratefully accepted.

The Oshiro's home was far from intimidating. The house looked like it should be flanked on all sides by similar structures with the overpowering evidence of families and life. Instead there was just nature encroaching from all sides, acres of forest without another property in sight. It was strange to see such a large house all by itself so close to the city. The lack of other structures and the density of the forest that surrounded the small section of flattened yard felt off for such a modern structure. But there wasn't anything scary about that. If anything it seemed lonely.

Mai paused before entering and took a deep breath, there was a hint of wood smoke on the air and Mai wondered briefly if people camped in the woods that surrounded the home. Perhaps it was public land? Why have just this one house then?

She should have paid more attention when Oshiro-san was in the office. He had to make good money for them to be able to afford a secluded place like this. These clients may have been a bigger deal than she had originally thought.

Not even half way to her destination Mai felt the jumble of metal in her arms begin to shift. She leaned forward and tried adjusting the pile of shelving in her arms with her knee, but she knew it wasn't going to last much longer. _Only twenty more steps to the base, come on Mai you can do this,_ she reassured herself.

She had found early on that the easiest way of making it back and forth from the van with arms full of delicate equipment was to keep herself distracted from what exactly it was she was carrying, and its net worth. So she had developed her step mantra. Count the number of steps from the van to the base on her first trip in and then just focus on counting down each subsequent trip.

_Nineteen, eighteen, seventeen._

Unfortunately, her step mantra couldn't save her from the awkwardness of the shelves and their predilection for slipping out of her tired arms. She could feel them sliding again. Mai folded herself over the materials bringing a leg up hoping to catch the sliding metal and push it back towards the rest of its bunch.

"Please, let me help you," a voice asked from ahead of her. Mai glanced forward to see Chucks, jeans, and a green tee-shirt attached to the arms which were headed her way.

"Oh no I'm fine," Mai insisted, but an errant beam chose that moment to slide free. Mai dove in an attempt to catch it. Of course she overcompensated and found herself and the various shelving bits heading rapidly towards the floor. Mai flinched at the loud crash which she knew foreshadowed her own impact with the floor.

"I think it's over now," the voice from earlier told her, from much closer.

Mai didn't _feel_ impaled anywhere. She didn't even feel bruised. Mai opened eyes and relaxed shoulders she hadn't even realized she had clenched. Soft brown eyes and a shy smile completed the picture of her hallway rescuer who was now only an arm's length away as he held her shoulders steady.

"Are you ok, can you stand?" he asked his jaw barely moving, his neck and shoulders tight.

"I think so, thank you." Mai could feel her cheeks reddening. This was so embarrassing. And he seemed to be very uncomfortable.

"Good because my arms really hurt." He blushed as he looked at her and Mai nearly lost her balance the other way in her quickness to try to right herself.

"I'm so sorry," Mai said quickly once she had regained her footing. She took a step back to put space between them for a bow only to step on one of the fallen poles and finally met with the floor. Now her butt hurt almost as much as her pride. She gave one of the rods a quick kick for revenge. Mai pushed off the floor back into a standing position, keeping a careful watch of her footing. Which of course meant that she did not see the hand that he had offered her until she was already upright.

"Some hero I turned out to be," Mai's would-be rescuer said. He bowed slightly. "Sorry about that. I'm Oshiro Yuuki, by the way."

Mai returned the bow. "Taniyama Mai. Thank you so much for helping me. It's not your fault, I'm just a lost cause."

"Let me at least help you get some of this to the other room. You guys are setting up in the study, right?" Yuuki asked, picking up the fallen metal.

"Yes, but really, you don't need to. I can get it."

"I'm happy to help."

"Ok, well, let me take some of it. I mean trying to carry it all at once was what started this whole mess, and I don't think I could catch you," Mai joked. Yuuki responded with a small lopsided smile and passed her the few pieces he had gathered thus far.

In the study Yuuki lingered a moment before offering to help with the rest of the equipment and the two easily struck up a conversation as they set up the shelves and monitors. The room was nearly complete. Yuuki slid the monitors onto the shelves as Mai worked to wire them all into the correct feeds.

"Oh no, I'm still a university student," Yuuki responded to her question. "I used to have an apartment closer to campus, but free room and board is hard to turn away."

"What are you studying?" Mai asked as she worked on the connecting wires for the monitors. She had three more connected before she realized Yuuki hadn't answered. She glanced through the shelving to watch him slide in the last of the monitors. Had she asked a weird question? "Oshiro-kun?"

Yuuki's perpetual blush seemed to rise. "Foreign Literature." His voice was practically inaudible.

"Oh, that sounds neat! What kind of literature?"

"I focus primarily on Gothic Literature."

"What's that?"

"Uh, kinda like Ghost stories and stuff."

"Oh wow! That sounds amazing! What are your favorites?"

"Well, I'm most fluent in German, so I am partial to Germanic Gothic stories," Yuuki informed her. "But of course you have the English classics like Mary Shelly's Frankenstein and later Edgar Allan Poe's works like The Tell-Tale Heart."

"You're fluent in German? Do you know a bunch of languages?" Mai asked. She had struggled so much with English, how had he managed a number of languages?

"Well the best way to really get to know the stories is to read the source material, so I made a point to study German and English. My Russian is still really rudimentary, though, so I usually look for translations of anything Russian-made."

"That's amazing!" Mai said.

Yuuki shrugged. "I guess. What about you? Are you planning to go to university after high school?"

Mai fidgeted. "I don't—"

"Mai, are you almost done here?" Naru interrupted from the doorway. "John has gotten all of the cameras set up and we would like to be able to check the feeds."

His attention shifted abruptly to Yuuki. "Who are you?" he snapped. "Why are you touching that?" Despite the wall of equipment between them Mai could see Naru eyeing Yuuki mistrustfully.

"He was just helping me out," Mai explained, stepping out from behind the shelving unit.

"Lin was supposed to be setting this up with you," Naru replied. "Where is he?"

"Murphy-san took him so Lin could translate for Oshiro-san." Mai could practically feel the displeasure rolling off of Naru. Naru's glare shifted back to Yuuki.

"Thank you for your help, I shouldn't take any more of your time," Mai told Yuuki, hoping he picked up the hint. It wouldn't do them any favors if Naru alienated one of the clients on the first night they were there.

"It was my pleasure. I'm sure I'll see you again later," Yuuki said with a smile. He handed Mai his bundle of cable he had been ready to pass her before giving Naru a slight bow and heading out of the room.

After a moment Mai stepped briskly up to Naru, who bristled with tension. She waited He obviously had something he wanted to say.

"Well?" she prompted. Damn him and his ridiculous patience.

"I shouldn't have to remind you that you are here to work, Mai, not to socialize."

"He was helping me, Naru."

"He doesn't know his way around the equipment. He could have damaged something."

Mai rolled her eyes. "What, are you afraid you're gonna wind up with another employee?" she asked. She turned on her heel and started back towards the shelving unit. "Good, you might need one."

"Are you threating to quit?"

Naru's voice was nonchalant and Mai was surprised to find that it hurt. _Was_ she threatening to quit? Mai honestly didn't know. She didn't know why she had said it. It had just kind of come out.

"I don't know." She resumed her path to her work. "Murphy-san seems to think I'm even more useless than you did." Mai shook her head. "Forget I said anything."

"Jack is an idiot. He has no grasp of the potential he is wasting."

"Yeah, I could be getting him his drinks, too." Mai flinched as it slipped out. She was thankful for the bank of monitors separating them. That hadn't been fair. She knew for a fact that Naru saw her as more than just a tea slave. He had, on occasion, trusted in her, even with his life. She had cherished those moments. But he had also been an insufferable asshat since he had come back from abandoning them all. _Without any explanation,_ she reminded herself. He was also planning on leaving them again and with just the worst replacement ever. Better he had closed SPR.

Mai went to work plugging in cords, perhaps just a tad too roughly. They could handle it; they were made of metal, after all. She didn't need to look back though the shelves to know Naru had left.

Maybe she had gone too far? Maybe it didn't matter. He was leaving again soon anyway. What did he care if she stayed here or not? She certainly didn't care if he had a problem with it.

Why did it smell smoky? Was something burning?

Mai looked around her for the source of her new olfactory distraction. Panic started to settle in as she feared that some of the equipment had caught flame. She quickly glanced over everything in front of her. Nothing there.

She continued to make her way around the room, sniffing and looking for the source of the smell. It didn't smell electrical and there weren't any smoke wisps appearing. She stuck her head in the hall to see if it was coming in from another room. She tried walking away, but the smell only faded. She tried going the other direction to no avail. It dissipated even faster. Perhaps it had passed, whatever it was. Making her way back towards the study, the smell came back and was definitely getting stronger as she approached. She followed it to the far side of the study and opened the double doors to the living room. In here, the smell did not seem to fade like it did in the hallway, but it also did not appear to originate from any specific point, either.

"Hey Mai, Whatcha searching for?" John asked, nearly making her jump.

Mai turned to face him. "Do you smell anything?"

"No. Why, do you smell something, Mai?"

She took another deep sniff. It was fading again. Perhaps she was imagining it or there had just been something on the wind. The windows in this room and the study were open. It must have come from outside. She had smelled smoke outside earlier. That had to be it.

"I'm not sure. I guess not." Mai started back towards the study. She really needed to get those monitors finished.

"Ok, well, you'll let me know if there's anything wrong, right?" John asked with a small smile as he kept pace.

Mai smiled back as they approached the equipment. "Of course. Did you need something, John?" Mai looked over her work. Thankfully there was only one monitor left.

"Well, I saw Bou-san and Akyako pull up just a minute ago, so I thought we would probably all be gathering to talk about everything."

Mai pushed in the last of the plugs and came back around to the controls.

John stepped out of Mai's way and continued. "I'm surprised I got here first, I thought Naru would have beat me down."

Mai flicked the master switch and all of the monitors flashed to life. Out of professional distractions, Mai was saved from having to respond when the Narcissist himself came back through the door, followed closely by an unhappy Ayako.

"Well, what is the meaning of this!" Ayako thundered. "Do you know what that man said to me?" Mai didn't need to guess who _that man_ was.

"No Ayako, what did he say?" Naru asked. Mai could tell that the annoyance he had so causally hidden with her earlier was boiling closer to the surface.

"I don't know! It was in English, but I can tell you I didn't appreciate it. You can't let him do stuff that, you need to say something to him." Ayako told Naru, refusing to let him get more than half a step away from her.

Mai felt bad. She should probably step in and save him. It was obvious he was uncomfortable with Ayako's closeness and really there was nothing he could do professionally about Jack. He, _could_ talk to Jack, but saying something didn't really seem like it would do much of anything. But she should save him.

In just a minute. He could sweat it out for just a bit more.

"Jou-chan!" Bou-san shouted, barreling towards Mai. Moments later she was desperately wishing for some personal space herself. Just enough so she could breathe again would be ok.

"Let her go, you idiot. She can't breathe. Can't you see her face is turning red?" Ayako scolded.

Mai's arms waved and she let out a muffled, "It's ok."

Bou-san relaxed after a moment and shifted his arms to hold her by the shoulders, looking her over.

"How you been, kiddo? How's the new school year?"

Mai beamed at him. "Well we're only a week in, but I haven't failed anything yet."

"What did they say about university?"

Mai deflated. _Why did they have to keep asking about that?_

"Oh." Bou-san's face fell. "That doesn't seem good."

"Yasu thinks I should talk to them again," Mai sighed. "He says we could become a power couple and rule Japan." She laughed at the end, hoping to bring back the lightness of a few moments earlier and maybe to deflect further inquiries.

Bou-san looked around the room and asked. "Speaking of, where is your shonen shadow?"

Mai laughed again. It was true, she and Yasu had spent the last few months hanging out, and working on cases as the tech team, but it still sounded absurd when Bou-san put it that way. "University starts Monday, so he is on hiatus from work until break, except for research," Mai told Bou-san. She kept the fact that Yasu had decided not to work part time this semester to herself.

It already felt so odd. It was great to be back with so much of her family, but it still felt incomplete since she had spent the last six months with Yasuhara and Madoka. Most of the cases were purely observational, so it had just been the three of them. And now, Naru and Lin were back, but Yasu and Madoka were gone.

Mai had finally found a missing piece of the puzzle only to discover that another section had been lost in the meantime. Things were never going to be like they were before.

Mai took a deep breath and pushed all that aside. It wasn't the time for that. Besides, she was too young to think about the 'good old days' right? Things change, she understood that. She just wished that understanding something meant not feeling miserable about it.

Bou-san must have picked up on her souring mood because he quickly smothered Mai in another hug.

Footsteps from the doorway and a loud throat clearing announced Jack and Lin's arrival.

"Alright Davis," Jack began, but quickly stopped when Lin shot him a pointed look. "Ah, Shiba, whatever. Show me what you guys got," he finished, leaning against the wall.

Mai took advantage of Jack looking at Naru on the other side of the room and rolled her eyes. Brief glances filtered through the rest of the group. Hands shoved in his pockets, Naru gave a brief nod, took a step forward, and began.

"From what we have gathered so far, we know the following: the home we are in now is less than two years old. It was constructed just before the Oshiro family bought it and there have been no other occupants." Naru paced the room, his head held high and his eyes squinting in thought. "The land the house rests on historically belonged to the Oda family. In fact, the woods which surround it still belong to the Odas. The family sold this portion of land off to contractors a number of years ago. This explains the seclusion of the home, but does not explain why the contractors waited so long to build up on the real estate they had acquired."

Mai noticed that despite facing them he didn't look at any of his audience. It reminded Mai of the way some of her teachers got in the heat of an intense lecture. The lecture may have been for the class, but the teacher seemed to be in their own world.

"At this point, we have no evidence as to whether the disturbances are recent in nature or have existed in the area for a number of years," Naru continued. "We do know that they presented themselves most predominantly in the last few months." Losing himself in thought, Naru slowed to a halt, his speech slowing along with his feet. He stood like a statue and held his chin. "It all began presumably after the child was born," he murmured thoughtfully. "Interesting. How soon after? Could the child—"

A gentle throat clearing interrupted Naru. Mai felt like she had been in some kind of a trance and a look around the transfixed faces surrounding her confirmed that she was not alone. How did he do that?

Mai watched as Naru and Lin exchanged significant glances. Naru once again gave a curt nod and shoved his hand back in his pocket.

"Based on the information presented to us prior to this," Naru said, resuming his lecture once more, "the manifestations appear to have been growing in intensity. What were previously unnerving experiences have escalated to potentially dangerous encounters."

There was something about the flow of the information. Was this what it felt like inside of Naru's head? Just a constant stream of information rushing by? Waiting to be plucked out, dissected, and reconstructed in a matter of seconds?

Mai didn't want to admit it right now, she wanted to keep hating him, but Naru really was so amazing.

"Mai."

Mai jumped. "Yes Naru!" She found herself almost compelled to salute.

"I want base temperature readings in all the rooms."

"Yes." Mai felt her straight posture hold. Something in his voice pulled her to attention. His eyes crinkled more and seemed to sparkle with something other than the deep concentration they had held a moment earlier.

"Take Jack with you, to show him the ropes."

Mai's jaw trembled, her own eyes narrowing. Was that just the ghost of a smirk on his face? _That stuck-up, narcissistic—_

She _knew_ he was going to make her pay for their argument earlier.

"Of course," she pushed out through her clenched jaw. She sent Naru her brightest smile and a slight bow before turning to address Jack in English. "If you would follow me, Dr. Murphy."

Mai swiped the thermometer and clipboard from the table and started out the door, too preoccupied with her thoughts of revenge to care if Jack followed her or not. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the major delay. I wanted to make sure I got the details of the whole case worked out before I started on case chapters. Because of that this chapter went through 3 major revisions and chunks of it were moved to later chapters. For the sake of pacing.
> 
> Good news though I got the whole case mapped out and it is five chapters long. That means I have detailed outlines for the next four chapters after this as well. Hopefully that will reduce the actual production delay.
> 
> All my thanks to my commenters: mabver321, Caeria, atalieAOI, and Treyvoni. I love seeing what you have to say!


	9. Chapter 8 (revised)

## Chapter 8-Oliver

 

The house was spacious, but not overly large.  Two floors, eight rooms, twenty-two hundred square feet, and no conceivable reason it should be taking Mai this long to finish checking the cameras. Oliver was on the verge of tapping his finger against the desk when he finally saw Mai pass in front of one of the feeds.

Oliver’s scowl deepened when her appearance was almost immediately followed by the client’s younger brother. The two appeared to be engaged in conversation. Oliver could tell by the way Mai stood with the clipboard pressed to her chest that her duties had once again slipped from her mind.

That explained the slowdown. It seemed that she was truly incapable of accomplishing a task without engaging in some form of socialization. Productivity be damned.

Oliver could feel a headache building behind his left eye and it was causing his focus to waver. He needed tea.

Where was Mai?

He clenched his pen in his hand. No, he couldn’t ask her for tea. Not after yesterday.

She couldn’t actually think that was all he believed her capable of? Was she really thinking of quitting? Had all of this this had been for nothing? No, he needed to focus. Perhaps he _should_ go make some tea.

It was highly unlikely that he would miss anything if he left the base for just a moment. They had been in the house for over 24 hours and they had yet to witness or record a single phenomenon.

This was not typically cause for concern, but Jack had been breathing down his neck the whole time. Commenting on the waste of resources and his time.

“Davis!” Jack’s shout caused Oliver’s headache to throb briefly. How many times had they told Jack to stop using his name? The man was utterly incompetent. 

Once more Oliver found himself being lectured and forced to justify his methods to Jack. All the while he tried to remember how he had allowed himself to be roped into returning to Japan in the first place.

Oliver kept an eye the monitors before him as Jack droned on.

The younger brother was standing center frame in one, now with the baby in his arms. Mai approached the pair, hands waving in a way that Oliver could only assume was meant to entertain the infant.

Perhaps if he let his head fall to the desk he could render himself unconscious.

“Davis are you listening?”

“There is no way of telling if the purification was effectual if we do not wait and gather data.” Oliver countered Jack’s question as he turned his attention back from the monitors.  “We still have not ascertained if the cleansing Ayako performed was even necessary. So far there has been nothing in the data to even suggest paranormal activity.”

 “If your Mako is worth a damn—”

 Oliver refused to let the groan escape his lips.

“Miko,” Oliver corrected in a quiet voice. “She is a Shinto priestess, not a shark.”

No, the distance between his head and the desk was too short to cause him to black out, but perchance if he were to fall all the way to the floor he could hit it just right.

“You know what I mean.” Jack dismissed.

With a mental sigh Oliver decided it wasn’t worth it.  Jack would only continue to berate his comatose form until he awoke again.

“Spiritualist’s actions in no way guarantee success. We have both seen—“Oliver stopped as he caught sight of Jack’s presumptuous smirk.

“Surely you don’t doubt the validity of your own team’s supposed skill set?” Jack offered.

Oliver felt his back straighten at the slight. Jack was looming over him, but Oliver resisted the urge to stand he knew it would only be seen as a challenge. And a challenge was exactly what Jack was looking for.

“You know firsthand that in this line of work there is no such thing as a one hundred percent success rate. Exorcisms, spiritual cleansings, they vary in their effectiveness. That is why _we_ seek to gather empirical data on location. We can then use our findings to attempt to determine both _what_ is happening as well the best method of dealing with the situation. As I have mentioned before.”

Jack’s face split into a grin, but he didn’t offer a response.

 “I am here to teach you how we operate at this branch. When I am gone,” Oliver cleared his throat. “You will be free to use the resources at your own discretion.” It took no small degree of effort for Oliver not to spit the last sentence. The thought of Jack having control of the branch still felt like a death sentence for his business.

It was strange, Oliver found that he cared about all of this more than he had expected. It was only a place, and a place which had already served its true purpose. He had never meant for it to be anything other than a front, yet he found he had formed an attachment.

Jack’s grin widened and he hooked his fingers in his belt.

“Yeah, I think we will have some definite changes in the future.”

Oliver clenched his fists. He couldn’t let Jack under his skin. It wasn’t worth it and it was dangerous, for the staff. This wasn’t the first not-so-thinly veiled threat Jack had made concerning the irregulars’ jobs. Many of the others treated this as a secondary source of employment, but Oliver knew Mai would be devastated. And what kind of manager would he be to leave her like that. 

“But you know,” Jack continued. “If you’re in a teaching mood, how about you share your tricks on how you get all those wallets opened.”

“No trick.” Oliver answered. “Just charm, Dr. Murphy. Though I fear that I lack the skills to teach it to you. If you’ll excuse me, I am going to make myself a cup of tea,” Oliver replied standing.

 “I know charm kiddo, I got plenty of charm. What you and that brother of yours did had nothing to do with charm.” Jack’s voice had lost it normal amused, if condescending, tone. Now it was low and for the first time Oliver wondered if there could be something more dangerous about Jack.

Oliver made to step past the man, but Jack’s hand encompassed Oliver’s shoulder.

 “You know,” Jack continued, leaning in. “I used to think that it was your brother who could really _ensnare_ them. But the way you command attention. I think SPR may not have lost as much as we feared.” 

Taking a deep breath Oliver repressed a cringe of disgust and instead cast his eyes upward to meet the other man’s.

 “Remove your hand, from my person.” Oliver responded, his own anger drawing his voice down to match Jack’s.

“There’s a lot we could offer one another kiddo,” Jack told him loosening his hand from Oliver’s shoulder and giving it a light pat before dropping the hand to his side.

Oliver stared up at Jack, the hunger in Jack’s eyes was all too familiar.

 Money.

He had put in so much work and so much time to improve the quality and respectability of this field. But as Oliver looked at his ‘colleague’ he knew that all Jack saw was a monetary tool. Just one more scam artist out to cash-in on the gullibility of others. In England at least Luella and Martin had been there to stand between them and these, _parasites_.

But Luella and Martin weren’t here now. And it wasn’t _them_ anymore. It was just him. A hollow feeling crept in at the thought. Oliver’s stomach soured. He felt dizzy. Jack’s presence was oppressive.

When Oliver saw Lin come in behind Jack he had to catch himself before he sighed aloud.  

 “I have no idea what you are talking about.” Oliver replied. His fingernails cutting into his palm as he fought to keep from expanding on his thoughts on the matter.

“Look kid you’ve got a gift an you are wasting—“

Bright laughter cut through the tension. For the briefest of seconds Oliver found his eyes drawn to the living room door in expectation of Mai’s arrival, but he stopped them from their wandering.

Jack’s disgusting smirk was back.

“Let me know when you are ready to stop wasting your influence on little girls and I’ll show you how to play the big boy game.”

Oliver felt his whole body clench, arms straining against the fabric of his shirt and his face hardening. It took all his concentration to resist the tug on the corner of his mouth and keep his sneer hidden.

The subterfuge proved unnecessary as Jack’s gaze had been drawn to Oliver’s left were Lin now stood his visible eye locked on Jack. Lin waited, silent and watching.

Jack was still blocking his path to the hall so Oliver turned towards Lin and the doors to the living room behind him.

All too ready to put more space between himself and Jack. Oliver passed his notes to Lin and took quick steps out of the room; nearly colliding with Mai as she came in through the living room.

“Oh Naru,” Mai yelped as Yuuki pulled her out of Oliver’s path, “where are you going?”

While saving her from physical harm the grab did nothing to protect her from Oliver’s verbal fire.

“Out.” He snapped. “Some of us actually work around here.” She was due for a discussion on professionalism and work ethic. But he had no interest in administering the lecture in front of a crowd. At least not right this moment.

Instead Oliver continued by, fingers still locked in tight fists and his mind focused on getting to the front door before he let things get out of hand.

“Mai,” Jack called out, his voice was once again jovial, “shut that window would you hun. It’s getting a little chilly in here.”

A loud crack sounded as one of the picture frames in the living room shattered and fell to the floor.

Oliver ignored Mai’s cry of alarm as he slammed the door behind him.

Outside, Oliver turned towards the woods which surrounded the home.

He listened to the bird song and the soft crunch of his own footsteps as he wandered through the underbrush.

Money or a monster, that was all the pumpkins saw. No one saw a scientist. The research. The work. There was so much more they couldn’t understand. The wealth of knowledge, of untapped discovery that remained in the field, and they thought of money? Their miniscule narrow minds were stifling; how could they survive in them? 

The pumpkin’s clinging vines; stinging as they twisted around him. Oliver could feel them sloughing off as he made his way farther away from the home. Yes, the woods would help. The woods always helped.

Having spent most of his life in one metropolis or another Oliver found that it was often impossible to be alone. Not to mention having a brother who mentally ‘walked in’ without even knocking sometimes. There was something intrinsically solitary about the forest, though. Even in a busy city if he could find a secluded enough area he could trigger that feeling of being surrounded and yet perfectly alone.

In those moments he could shut the door to Eugene and there he was, in his own space. No one else’s expectations or interests. Just. Him.

Gene hated it when Oliver went off the grid. Even if Gene had always known where to look for him. Gene told Oliver that he shouldn’t ‘wander off like that’. In private, Gene would berate him for shutting down the connection. In retrospect, Oliver had come to realize that it was not his physical person Gene worried would one day disappear. 

The familiar pull to check on his connection to Gene tugged at the back of his mind.

He pushed it down.  There was no point in reaching out for that. It was dead.

Gene was dead.

The thought stopped him in his tracks, his headache escalating from a steady throb to a sharp piercing point behind his left eye. Light blazed and splintered everywhere he looked.

Pressing his palm into his eye he leaned against a tree. He found his legs were often untrustworthy at these times.

The emotions would stop. If he gave them their moment.

A chill diverted him from the unwanted sentiment that battered to be released and drew his uncovered eye to the canopy above. The light wasn’t as painful with his left eye covered. The world had a hazy halo, but no longer shattered like glass in his eye.  An unseasonably cold breeze pushed its way through the trees. Whipping them into a momentary frenzy.

Steadying himself against the attack, he took a branch in one hand and shoved the other into his pocket. The fingers of each hand gripped tight around their anchors as he felt the muscles of his chest spasm. Air was rung from his lungs, but he could not call it back in. The brightness grew again. The world reduced to painful light and shrinking darkness.

 Sometimes Gene had talked him out these moments. But he was alone.

Alone used to be so hard to achieve. Now, it was killing him.

Moments later the tightness that came with the commotion began to fade. He breathed deep, his lungs aching as he attempted to draw in more breath where there had been none for too long.  He had to force himself to let the breath back out. Remind himself that air held in was just as useless as its absence.

Taking another deep breath, he released his hold on the tree. Grateful to find that he was one again able to support himself. The haze faded with each breath, the world coming back into sharp contrast.

Drawing himself up he pulled his left hand from his pocket and unclenched slow, stiff fingers.  Shiny metal glinted in the mottled afternoon light. Removed he found that the key had bestowed a pink silhouette on his skin.

As his vison continued to sharpen he could see that the teeth had left a bright red line punctuated with white where the points had pressed against the meat of his palm. He ran the fingers of his right over the numb, yet highly sensitive, raised flesh on the left. The affected hand barely registered the pressure.

Buried deep below the outer layer he could feel that his finger pressed against his palm. But there was a space between which muted the sensation; leaving it disjointed and isolated from himself.

Oliver _lived_ in that space for as long as he could.

Separate. Untouchable. Alive.

A tingling sensation harbored the return of feeling and Oliver separated his hands returning the key to his pocket in the process.

Shaking his hand in an effort to speed up the return of circulation.  A flash of light behind the blur of his fingers caught his attention.

Perhaps it had just been the movement of his hand, but he was so sure had seen something move among the trees.

There, a shadow. But a shadow made of light.  Was his headache causing the light to flare once again?

Oliver turned his head there were no bright flashes to be seen. In fact his head had returned to a dull uncomfortableness. Not painful enough to be affecting his vision.

He turned his attention back to the space he has seen the light. Perhaps it would be gone, and it has just been a remnant of his own madness.

The light remained, it was ahead of him. Could it be a figure? If it was too far off to tell. Was it moving or was that just the foliage around it?

Perhaps it was a filtering of the light in that section of the woods. Or it could be a spirit powerful enough physically manifest itself in the afternoon light?

Even in their line of work the mundane answer was often the more likely. Regardless of the likelihood of either postulation the situation warranted investigation.

Oliver advanced on the light making his way through the moderate under brush. He was only a few meters away when the light faded. The forest diming around him.

Had it been paranormal and moved away? Could it be as simple as the sun sliding behind a cloud?

A flash of light in his peripheral vision pulled his eye to the right. Nothing.  Oliver scanned the trees for a moment more, but if there had been anything to see it was no longer there. He could just see the back of the house from here, but no sign of anything paranormal.

Oliver turned his attention back to the area he had been moving towards. If the light had been anywhere it had been there so decided to take a look before he returned to the base. 

It was a small clearing, a large stump or boulder which had been entirely enveloped by plant life stood a meter tall in its center. The faint sent of wood smoke rested on the air, but there was no sign of burning. No smoke to be seen. Could there be campers in these woods?

His next step resulted in a loud snap that reverberated in the silent woods. Nearby birds erupted from the trees and he jumped. But only a little.

Kneeling the rotting wood that had split beneath his foot was visible. Dark patches of the decaying timber littered the clearing.

So it seemed there _had_ been another structure in this area at some point.

Careful steps brought him to the green mound with a minimal amount of crackling. At closer inspection Oliver could see that it was made of stone. Taking hold of a mass of the greenery he torn it away, tossing it to the side of the clearing.

The mound _was_ stone, not a sold boulder as he had postulated, but masonry. There must have been a structure here.

From the edge he had cleared away more rotting wood was visible topping the stonework. Wedging his fingertips between the stone and the timber both sides began disintegrating at his touch. Hooking what he could of the wood he pulled up.

With a loud splintering a small chunk of the wood tore free from the whole. Oliver reeled, stepping backward to retain his balance.

The freed piece proved to be little deeper than the length of his fingers and not much longer than his hands. It was enough to show that the stone work was hollow beneath the cover, but too small to reveal anything more than darkness inside.  

His head blocked the sunlight he could use as he peered inside the inky blackness. He briefly contemplated reaching into the dark to investigate, but soon thought better of the notion. This close to the moldering wood and stone rot and damp overpowered the lingering wood smoke smell. 

Tearing away at the greenery atop the mass revealed more of the wood. Once more he slid his fingers to the damp and crumbling underside of the wood. Getting the best grip he could find on the jagged edge he placed a foot against the masonry and pulled.

The wood strained against him, popping and snapping as it separated from the stonework. Too late he realized that not all of the fracturing was coming from the wood.

The stone under his right foot fell away and Oliver toppled forward. Arms springing out, releasing the wood and attempting to find a way to lessen his impact. He hit the masonry with an ‘ooof’ that nocked the breath from his still recovering lungs and left him blinking.  

His right leg burned and the left screamed as it sat twisted beneath him his knee wedged into the ground at the base of the masonry. His arms, while they had not saved him from impact, were wrapped in an awkward yet probably lifesaving hug around the circumference of the stonework. If not for them he would have met face first with the decrepit wood. As it stood only his chin had connected with the timber and while jarring he had managed not to bite his tongue.  Face resting on the moist and mossy wood he no longer took offence at wet earth scent which had now been punctuated with the chalky dust of crumbled stone.  It could have been much worse.

The cascading of stone pulled him from his reprieve, head shooting back up. This wasn’t over yet.

Reaching out with his right food, he searched for some sort of purchase inside what he now felt he correctly labeled as a well. Unsurprisingly, he found nothing. His foot couldn’t reach the far side of the well and even if it could that side was sure to be just as slick and unsteady as the nearside.

Pushing off the stonework caused the sound of falling stone to intensify. He froze broken bits of masonry bouncing off his leg inside the well before continuing to echo their decent for a much longer period of time than he was comfortable with.

Why had he tried to open the well on his own? What could he have been thinking? Even if he had managed to get it open he had no rope and no torch. Even Mai wouldn’t have been this reckless. True, she had fallen into an open manhole cover (and taken him with her), but she never kicked herself into a decaying well in the middle of a forest.

Oliver rested his stinging chin back on the mossy stonework. “Idiot.”

He needed to get out of this. A fair sized chunk of stonework broke off from around his thigh, struck his foot, and clattered noisily down the well. He needed to get out of this sooner rather than later.

If he could pull back his center of gravity, he could cause himself to fall backward instead of forward. He just had to get his left leg out from under him. As it sat the fulcrum of the leg only pressed him farther forward.  Bracing himself and moving with as much speed as the uncomfortable angle allowed him he shifted his foot away from the well.

He hissed as his leg protested the unnatural angle. With a grimace he fell harder against the stone, but he had managed to get his foot far enough around that he could kick it forward. The sounds of crumbling intensified. He could feel the masonry disintegrating beneath him, a waterfall of stone pouring from his torso and cascading over his leg. The world spun once more and Oliver’s back hit the ground.

His fingers gripped at the foliage, and the cool dirt beneath it, reinforcing his mind’s understanding of its solidity.

Almost all of the side of the well was gone, a black hole twice the width of his person staring back at him.

The relative softness of the plant life wrapped around. The arrhythmic twitching of the hand on his chest to his chest competed with the pounding of his heart.

At least he was alone. Spared the uncomfortableness of unwelcomed concern.

Shielding his eyes from the light, Oliver smiled.

_If Lin finds out, I’ll be lucky to go to the bathroom by myself._

The thought brought a burst of mirth from his lips. Then another.

Gene may have had been right to worry that he would lose his mind on one of his trips into the forest. Dirty, laying on the ground laughing, and utterly unconcerned with either of those facts perhaps he had in fact just lost it.

Oliver contemplated staying like this for a while. He squinted as he watched bands of white clouds move across the cerulean blue expanse above him. No one would miss him. At least not for a while. He could fall asleep.

No, Lin would come looking and Oliver valued what little private time he was currently afforded.

Sitting up he took stock of the damage to his apparel. Nearly all of him was covered in the grey film of stone dust. Bright white streaks of the stuff traveled up his right leg stopping mid-thigh. A burning sensation indicated that the skin beneath the black trousers would sport parallel red bands. Clumps of grass, dirt, and stone were embedded in the cloth and exposed flesh of his left knee. Standing he was unsurprised to find the knee also objected to the weight being put on it. Pulling a cluster of leaves from his breast pocket he noticed that the buttons on both of his cuffs had been lost as well as the bottom few from his shirt. Rolling up his sleeves his arms added their own voice to the chorus of displeasure his body was forming.

He was a mess. There would be no playing this off. No, the best option would be to get back to the base and attempt to avoid attention until he could get changed.

Locating the house in the distance he began a shaky, but steady pace back.

He thought on the age and purpose of the well as he worked his way back. It had to have been a number of years old, not only was he more than certain that it had lost its structural integrity, but the forest had had the chance to grow over it and the platform that had surrounded it.

Nearing the edge of the wood Oliver realized that his heart was still running at a steady pace. A general sense of anxiety settling in his chest.  He tried to see into the base window. Should he risk heading in the back or attempt to make it around to the front?

The anxiety gave way to apprehension, an unnerving tingle spreading to his limbs. The back would do, he could slip past the study and make his way into the living room and their bags from the front hall.

The fear hit him as he swung open the back door. His muscles tensed, freezing him mid-step. On instinct he threw up the mental barriers he had left lax in the woods while scanning the space around him for the threat.

The fear faded, but relief was replaced by confusion. If it had not been his own fear then whose—

A pounding from the upper story broke the silence.

“Mai!” the shout traveled down the stairs to his right and struck Oliver in the side of the head.

He took the stairs two at a time, swinging off the banister to manage the curve of the stairs without hitting the wall.  At the top he saw everyone clustered in front of the nursery’s door at the far end. Everyone except for—

“Mai!” Bou-san yelled again. Jiggling the door handle before pressing his shoulder to the door with a shove. “Are you ok?”

The tumultuous sound of objects hitting into walls and the wailing of a baby came from behind the door, but no answer. The anxiety was rising again.

“I’m… I’m ok.” Mai’s voice quivered, but was loud enough to make it over the din. “I’ve got Akemi. She is scared, but ok.” The relief that washed over everyone was palpable.

“Ok Jou-chan get away from the door. I am going to break it down.” Bou-san wasted no time waiting for her to move. He took two steps back and threw himself at the door, which he bounced off nearly taking out John and Yuuki who were standing close by. The two smaller men managed to catch Bou-san before he took them down with him.

To the left of the door Lin stood next to Ayako a contemplative look on his face.

 Oliver watched as the wall shook, something large hitting next to the door. Mai’s scream barely audible over the bang.

Walking down the hall Oliver could feel the power building. The energy crackling against his skin. This door was going to greet the evening in splinters.

Raising his hand to attack, he found himself struggling against a force pushing his arm down. Looking at the hand on his wrist he followed the arm up to find Lin glaring at him.

Oliver glared back.

“Lin— “

“Don’t.” Lin commanded.

Oliver felt his mouth open.

“We _will_ get her out,” Lin continued, “just, let us try everything else first.”

Wrenching his wrist from Lin’s grasp his eyes still locked on. Behind Lin Bou-san bounced off the door once more.

“If you are going to do something, then bloody well do it.” Oliver forced out through clenched teeth.

Lin nodded and brought his fingers to his lips. An earsplitting whistle overpowered all other sound for a moment.

“Ayako!” Lin shouted, but he kept his eyes on Oliver. “Ayako, on my signal I need you to perform the nine cuts on the door. Takigawa!”

Lin turned his attention to his subject this time. “Get over next to me. As soon as she finishes we hit the door. Got it.” Bou-san nodded.

“John, Oshiro-san, when we get that door down you get in there, you get the girls, and you get back out here. You got that?” The men also nodded their understanding.  Behind them Jack used a meaty hand to keep Oshiro Katsuo in place. The wailing of his daughter was having a physiological effect on the man and he looked somewhere between rage and vomiting.

“Ayako.” Lin called out.

The priestess jumped into place.

“Rin. Pyou. Tou. Sha. Kai. Jin. Retsu. Zai. Zen.” Finishing Ayako stepped back as Lin and Bou-san barreled into the door. Which didn’t budge. And left the two men on the floor.

“Put your backs into it.” Jack shouted over the bedlam. Oliver resisted the urge to use his PK to throw the man down the stairs.

Oliver took a step towards the nursery.

“Wait.” Lin shouted springing up from the floor and turning another glare Oliver’s way. “Again.”

Ayako resumed her place in front of the door hands a blur as she called out the kujikiri.

As she finished Lin and Bou-san rushed past her as another whistle split the air.

With a crack and a bang the door was down and the men on the floor with it. On point, John and Yuuki jumped over them and into the room.

Bou-san and Lin scrambled out of the way as Yuuki and John came back through, a wide eyed Mai between them.

In the hall Ayako rushed to Mai’s side hands running over the girls checking for any immediate sign of injuries. Mai clutched the screaming Akemi to her chest. A hand still shielding the baby’s head and eyes. Ayako worked to pry back Mai’s protective fingers, but it wasn’t until she pointed to Akemi’s father that Mai finally relinquished her hold on the infant.

“Downstairs.” Oliver called out to the others before turning and heading back the way he had come.

The sounds had ended in the nursey, but there was no harm in regrouping in an area as far as possible from the disturbance.

The only one who chose to take the backstairs down, Oliver watched as the other arrived en mass from the living room.

Oshiro-san rocked Akemi in his arms. The infant was now silent, but produced an unhappy gurgle whenever her father stopped his soothing motions.

 Mai arrived sandwiched between Bou-san, who kept saying something about carrying Mai, and Ayako, who was inspecting a bruise that was starting to form on Mai’s cheek.  

Oliver’s jaw clenched.

He had been an idiot. He never should have left the base. He had promised Gene he wouldn’t let Mai get hurt. Not only had he lied, he wasn’t even able to do anything when she had been in danger.

Oliver waited as Lin brought up the rear, closing the double doors to the living room.

Hands in his pockets, fingers clenched tight. Oliver attempted to take control of the discord that he had arrived to.

“Would anyone like to tell me how this— “

“Oh no! Naru what happened to you!” Mai cried out. Decimating any hope that Oliver would be able to use the current confusion to mask his own earlier misfortunes in the woods.

Oliver closed his eyes in frustration.

“Nothing. About upstairs— “

“But you’re bleeding.” Mai countered.

Oliver worked his jaw and glared at Mai.  He was beginning to grow very displeased with her kind nature.

“Yeah,” John broke in. “Your chin, it’s bleeding.” Oliver turned to the priest his eyes intense. Unlike Mai John had the self-awareness to flinch and put a hand out in apology for speaking up. 

“Up.” Oliver paused, lest he should be interrupted again. “Stairs.” He ran his gaze around the room in challenge. “Who would like to start?”

There was another moment of silence.

“We were in the base when we heard a door slam and then the banging began.” Lin offered breaking the dam of silence.

“Bou-san and I were in the dining room when we heard it.” John offered.

“Ayako was taking a nap in the living room.” Bou-san added.

“What I can’t take naps? I did a cleansing last night remember?” Ayako countered.

“Whole lot of good that did.” Bou-san shot back.

“Does anyone have any _useful_ information?” Oliver interrupted before the pair could steer them completely off course.  “Mai, it happened to you. What can you tell us?”

Attention turned back to Mai, but it was Yuuki who spoke up.

“She was with me.” Yukki said his voice little more than a whisper. “She was playing with Akemi, we were talking about,” Yukki paused and bit his lip, “uh stuff. Anyway I went to get something from my room and I was in there when I heard the nursery door slam. When I got back out there everyone was arriving and then Mai screamed.”

Oshiro-san stepped forward. “What was so important that you abandoned your own niece?”

Yuuki blanched. “I didn’t… How was I supposed to know something was going to happen?”

“Really,” Mai started in, “it’s my fault he was telling me about his story and I said I wanted to read it.”

Yuuki grimaced and Oshiro-san went red in the face.

“You irresponsible… Get your head out of those books and back in the real world where it belongs. See what comes of all that nonsense.” Oshiro-san was looming over Yuuki now. He seemed ready to continue, but Akemi chose that moment to voice her displeasure with the current ambiance.

“Oshiro-san,” Oliver said, “due to the recent increase in activity it may be best that your family stay somewhere else until we complete our investigation.”

 Oshiro-san looked unconvinced. 

“It didn’t attack me,” Yuuki said, his back straightening. “So I will stay here and watch over the house for you ni-san.”

Oshiro-san considered for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

“I’ll take you upstairs so you can gather a few things.” John offered.

“I’ll go with you.” Bou-san said stepping over to the hall door.

“John,” Oliver interjected, “once you are done with that I want you to do an exorcism in the nursery. We don’t really know what we are up against, but we do know that there is _something_ happening here.”

John nodded and followed Oshiro-san and Bou-san out of the room.

Jack took advantage of the movement to rest himself in the large arm chair in the corner of the room.

“This place is a gold mine!” Jack cried out in English. All eyes shooting in his direction, most with a glare.  His characteristic buoyancy even more unsettling under the circumstances.

“What?” Jack continued, throwing a dismissive hand in Yuuki’s direction. “He doesn’t understand us. For all he knows we are discussing the case. Which we are!”

Oliver followed Mai’s gaze to Yuuki who appeared as if he wanted to say something, but bit his lip.

“Actually—“ Mai began.

“Mai!” Oliver cut her off, catching her eye. As far as Oliver was concerned Jack was more than welcome to make an ass of himself if he was just going to assume that Yuuki couldn’t understand him.

 “Sit down and tell us about what happened.”  Oliver said switching back to Japanese. If Jack wanted to take advantage of what he thought was a language advantage, then so could Oliver.  Oliver pointed to the desk chair near Mai as he pulled forward the two folding chairs by the monitors for he and Lin.

Lin. Oliver shot the other man a quick glance. If Lin wasn’t willing to ignore Oliver’s state, then all of this will have been for not.

Oliver sat and held his breath. After a moment more Lin sat next to him opening up his laptop. Oliver let the breath out. First crisis averted.

Oliver turned his attention back to Mai. Her eyes scrunched, drawn once again to his chin and the rest of his disheveled appearance. The struggle over whether or not to speak up left Mai moving with halting steps, but she approached and sat in the chair Oliver had provided.

“Begin after Oshiro-san left the room.” Oliver prompted.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (If you read this chapter already you may have noticed a few changes this time around. This chapter felt very wooden and robotic to me to I went back and attempted to flesh it out a bit more. It is still a very dry chapter I feel. There are a lot of things happening to Oliver and he is not the best at understanding and interpreting emotions so I feel like that leaves the reader a little walled in by his own inability to recognize what is happening to him. He will get better eventually I promise.)  
> I live! Sorry for the delay.   
> I had mapped out the case to be 5 chapters, but... This chapter ended up comprising only half of the outline that I had laid out for the chapter. So I did another reorg. And the case is going to be chapter longer now. :)


	10. Chapter 9

## Chapter 9-Mai

Mai gave a nod and began.

“I was playing on the floor with Akemi, Yuuki got up to leave, and then I felt it.” She fumbled, unsure how exactly to describe the unsettling feeling that had washed over her soon after Yuuki’s departure.

“It was like someone was staring at me, I could feel their eyes, here.” Mai shuddered and brought her hand between her shoulder blades.  She fought the urge to scratch the uncomfortable itch that reformed at the memory. Mai kept her eyes on Naru.  Watching him as he watched her back. 

“Akemi started to whine, so I picked her up. Then the door slammed closed.” Mai said, wrapping her arms around herself. Gooseflesh raising on her skin.

“It got so cold.” She whispered, she could taste the cold on her tongue again. It was sharp and a little bit metallic.

She waited, hoping the taste would fade soon.

Naru shifted in his seat. He was getting impatient, she could tell. He fidgeted, just the smallest bit, when he got this way. She could see he wanted to ask her to continue, but he held back. Hence, the fidgeting.

It didn’t usually last long enough for others to notice. His impatience often got the better of him and he would just barrel forward with questions. Or demands.

It was his way of getting excited. She had figured that out by now. It was less annoying now that she knew what was going on. Still mildly irritating, but also kind of endearing.

Mai took strength from the thought. Telling her story made Naru ‘happy’, at least in his own way. If she could just focus on his interest maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Besides, it was her job right?

“I heard a noise.” Mai continued. “I turned around.  Akemi’s toys, we had just been playing with them, they were floating in the air.” Her eyes went blank, the room fading as she though deeper.

“They flew at us,” she flinched her voice rising in pitch, “I screamed. Akemi was screaming. Everything was flying everywhere.” Her heart was pounding. The rush of blood pounding in her ears drowning out the world once again. 

 “I don’t… I held Akemi against the wall so she wouldn’t get hit. Something, something hit me. Akemi just kept screaming.” Mai’s hands moved up to grip her hair. “She was crying and it was so loud.” Mai’s voice was tripping over itself now the words pouring out in a rush.  “I couldn’t keep her safe. It was my fault. I couldn’t breathe. My fault.”

 The sounds were still overwhelming, everything was battering around inside her skull. It rocked her from side to side. _It’s my fault. Keep her safe. It’s my fault._  But the voice was shifting, deepening. It didn’t sound like herself it sounded like—

Mai stopped swaying. Her eyes flew open and she stared at—

Naru.

He sat across from her, still, silent, composed. A total contrast to her.

Mai squinted at him, so why did the voice in her head, sound like Naru?

Perhaps not a total contrast. She couldn’t say he looked at ease. His jaw was set and his shoulders back. If anything he looked mildly angry. He wasn’t looking at her anymore. Had she messed up somehow? Was he annoyed at her display? The thought hurt. He was probably ashamed to have someone so emotionally unstable working for him.

“Shhh Mai, it was a spirit.” Ayako soothed, “Akemi is fine. Nothing is your fault.” Ayako rand her hands running over Mai’s shoulders reassuringly.

“I think that is enough.” Ayako addressed the rest of the room.

“Naru?” Mai ventured. She wasn’t sure what kind of validation she expected, but he offered no response or acknowledgement.  His silence, while not uncommon, was triggering her anxiety once again. Mai bit her lip to hide the quivering that had begun along it’s edges.

She could still hear the voice. Repeating. _It’s my fault._ Over and over. Almost like a mantra. It was crushing. It was pulling her under, she would drown— She pushed against the voice. _It’s_ not, _It’s not my fault._

“Mai why don’t you go lie down on the couch?” Ayako offered. Mai couldn’t hear her over the crashing sound of the voice. _It’s my fault. Stop it. It’s my fault. This isn’t anyone’s fault. It’s—_

“Just stop it!” Mai yelled, hitting her fists against her legs. She gasped as she realized she had spoken aloud.

Tentative, Mai looked up and found herself once again in a staring contest with Naru. His eyes were wide; she must have shocked him with her outburst. Him and everyone else in the room. Now if only she could disappear.

“I’m sorry Ayako. I didn’t mean…” Mai brought a hand to her head. Which was now blissfully silent.

“It’s ok, you are just tired.” Ayako said with another rub.

Mai tried to ignore the stares that were focused on her. Maybe she _should_ lay down.

Naru brought his hand to his chin, only to pull it back with a silent hiss as his fingers brushed against the drying blood. Mai couldn’t help but notice that some of the blood peeled off with his fingers and new droplets were beading up to fill the space. Mai’s brain leapt at the chance for distraction.

He should get some medical attention. What had happened to him anyway? He had been more than mum on the situation. But how to get him to acknowledge, let alone discuss, whatever it was that had happened. Still refusing to share. Mai sunk further into her chair. She had hoped he would be done with the secrets by now.  

“Naru?” Mai asked again. She wished she could find a way to explain that she was on his side. With anyone else she could give them a hug, some small reassurances. But that wouldn’t work.

_Screw it,_ Mai thought. Her lips curving into a small smile. She needed a hug right now and if she couldn’t do it for real at least she could pretend.

She imaged hugging Naru, fingers gripping the familiar black cloth. He would smell like tea and dust from his recent secret adventure. He would be warm against her and she wouldn’t even mind the fact that his arms didn’t circle her back. It would be enough that he stayed.

As she squeezed him; her face pressed to his shoulder. She would whisper into his shirt, ‘Let me help you’, in a voice that she secretly hoped was still too quiet for him to hear. Then she would step back, just enough to look up at him, and see the shock and discomfort that had crept into his stony features. And she would let him go. But maybe, maybe he would stay.

Mai’s smile fell.

No, that was taking it too far. Even fantasy Naru couldn’t do that anymore.

No, it would end with his disapproving stare. That would be the last thing she would see before he left, again.

It wasn’t hard to picture; it would look almost like the face he was giving her now. Though she would expect the eyes to be just a tad narrower.

“Perhaps you _should_ lie down.” Naru offered.

“I will make you something to drink.” Yuuki offered. Mai nodded absentmindedly. Honestly, she had forgotten that the others were in the room.  Flashing a grin Yuuki bounded from the room.

“Come on Mai.” Ayako prompted, helping her up from her seat.  Mai turned, taking in a deep breath.  There it was again…

“No wait,” Mai said stopping Ayako from ushering her into the adjoining room. “Naru. There was one more thing.”

He looked up at her with a critical gaze as Mai took another deep sniff, but it was gone. She wondered if perhaps she had just imagined it.

“I noticed it when I first got here and then later when I was setting stuff up.”

Naru was still watching her, waiting. Not pushing. Just, waiting.

Mai hesitated, then thought better of it. “I thought it was nothing, but now I remember it was there, again, in the nursery.”

“And it was?” Naru asked his patience weaning.

“Woodsmoke. I could smell burning wood,” Mai answered. Naru blinked, his mouth opening as if to interject, but he refrained.  

“No, not burning,” Mai corrected, shaking her head. “It didn’t smell like an active fire. Just the scent that lingers afterward. You know in your hair and clothes. It stays forever.”

Naru gave a quick nod and looked over at Lin’s typing.  Mai turned to head to the living room, but spun around catching the men’s attention once again.

“Also,” Mai began, “it was lonely. So lonely. I felt like… I was the only person in the world. No, that’s not it.”  She hugged herself one more.

“I never felt lonely like that before. I could hear the others, feel Akemi in my arms, but it didn’t matter. It reminded me of Midori’s, but not. It was as if there was a wall or, or something. Something was between me and them that made me feel like I would never actually reach them. I don’t know. Forget that part. That was dumb. I’m going to lie down.” Mai’s voice faded as she finished and backed away.

She had nearly made it. She had almost had one important interaction with Naru where she hadn’t just word vomited all over the place and embarrassed herself. That couch was sounding better and better.

With a final nod Naru rose and walked over to the monitors, Lin following suite.

Mai looked at Naru’s disheveled appearance as he got back to work, the urge to ask about what had happened was strong. She had noticed that the blood on his chin had once again congealed into a dark sticky glob, his hands were dirty, his hair tousled, and his rolled up black sleeves left smudged and scraped forearms bare. The contrast to his usual composed appearance gave the whole thing an air of the forbidden. Mai bit her lip. Was his shirt half untucked? 

Almost as if her thoughts had brought his attention to the garment Naru tugged at his shirt, pulling out what remained tucked in his pants.  A bright flash of pale skin contrasted the black clothes. Grey dust wafted up as he unconsciously tugged on the garment.

Catching herself swallowing Mai scowled. How was it that he still looked good? So good. It wasn’t fair, damn it!

 Spinning on her heel Mai took quick steps to the couch and flopped down. She shifted once, twice, desperate for a comfortable position. It didn’t take long for her to realize that resting on the couch was _not_ going to help now. Lying there with the image of Naru unconsciously untucking his undershirt burned into her brain. There was no hope for rest.

She was still jittery. Even if it was for a vastly different reason than five minutes earlier. Mai squeezed her eyes shut. Willing her brain to empty.

“Mai, are you ready for your drink?” Yuuki asked. Mai opened her eyes and sat up. Yuuki and his shy smile graciously blocked her view of most of the base. He handed her a mug and she took a grateful swallow. She was somewhat surprised to find it was hot cocoa.

“I wasn’t sure what you would like.” Yuuki said crouching down to be even with her. “But I figured everybody likes hot chocolate right?”

“Thanks,” Mai said smiling back. “It’s wonderful,” she added taking another sip.

“I, uh,” Yuuki’s eyes darted around the room and his voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you guys. It’s just a dumb story.”

“No way.” Mai said. “I won’t believe that.” Yuuki’s blush grew.

“I just hope I still get the chance to read it.” Mai beamed from behind the mug.

Yuuki’s grin widened for a second, but then fell. “Maybe, maybe later.”

“I’m sorry.” Mai offered.

“No, I’m the one who is sorry.” Yuuki protested.

“I’m sorry about,” Mai inclined her head towards Jack who was still resting in the arm chair. His tucked chin and light snores marking him as more successful at napping then Mai’s own attempts had been.

“I’m sorry.” Mai bowed from her seat.

“It’s ok.” Yuuki attempted to bow back on instinct. But his crouching caused him to nearly fall over. After a less than graceful recovery Yuuki followed up with, “He seems, interesting.”

Mai couldn’t contain the snort that barreled its way out of her. Red faced she noticed over Yuuki’s shoulder the collection of glares she had amassed. Hiding behind Yuuki and her mug Mai took a series of deep gulps, draining the cup.

“Interesting, is certainly a word.” Mai said.

She was saved from further embarrassment by Bou-san and John’s return.

“The Oshiro’s are all packed up. I will get changed and head back upstairs.” John said in English as he reached for his bag.

“Good.” Naru responded. “Bou-san I have something for you.”

“What’s up sensei?” Bou-san asked heading over to the monitors. Mai smiled.

“In the woods behind the house there is a well. I want you to take some rope and a torch and take a look at it. I believe it is from a previous structure that was in this area.”  Bou-san nodded and headed for their equipment. After just a few steps he turned back to Naru.

“Do I just go straight out the back or…?” Bou-san asked.

Naru thought for a moment. “I suppose I could lead you back to it.”

“Do you want me to wait until you get back to look this over?” Lin asked Naru.

Naru looked torn.

“I think I know the well you are talking about.” Yuuki spoke up joining the other men. “It looks like a big green rock right? There is a lot of broken wood by it.”

“Yes.” Naru agreed.

“I can take him.” Yuuki offered.

“I’ll help!” Mai added.

“Absolutely not.” Naru said sitting down and looking over the papers in his hand. 

“Naru.” Mai pleaded.

“No whining Mai, you are supposed to be resting.” Naru dictated.

“I’m not whining.” Mai whined. “I’m fine. I’m in better shape then you are.”

Naru eyes lifted from the paper. At least she had his attention.

“I mean, what happened to you?” Mai asked gesturing at Naru’s tousled state which everyone else seemed more than content to ignore.

“Did you fall down that well or something?” Mai asked jokingly. Naru’s glare was instantaneous. “Oh, oh my… you didn’t—you did?” Mai quickly repressed the smile that threatened to break out. She was almost sure that she heard a quiet snort erupt from behind the hand Bou-san had in front of his face.

“Bou-san,” Oliver explained. “The masonry is very old and unstable. You will need to make sure to secure yourself elsewhere. In fact, Ayako you should go with them to assist.”

Mai glared at Naru’s attempted evasion. Ayako’s own look of amusement disappeared.

“Why do I have to help them? I don’t want to get all dirty. Can’t John or Lin help?” Ayako complained.

“No, John is performing an exorcism and Lin will be monitoring that data.”

“I can help.” Mai offered again, Naru couldn’t ignore her forever.

“Mai, you will be assisting Lin.” Naru told her.

“With what? He doesn’t need my help to observe.”

“Mai, you will be assisting Lin.” Naru repeated, slower.

“I don’t understand why I can’t go.” Mai could feel a rant coming on. Why didn’t he trust her with anything anymore? She pointed out the back window. “I can actually help out there, I’m not as incomp—“

“Mai,” Naru cut her off.

Mai clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.  Ready for the counter argument. She wasn’t going to let him win this time. She was ready to fight him.

“Tea.” He finished and turned back to the monitors.

Mai reeled at the dismissal. So this was it, she was just back to tea slave. Maybe this was the sign. Maybe she wasn’t supposed to be here anymore.

The room was heavy with disquiet.

After a miserable moment more Naru looked over his shoulder at Bou-san and added. “I recommend you head out soon, you will not have light for too much longer.”

With a less than subtle foot stop Mai turned on her heels and headed for the kitchen. Despite her unfamiliarity with the home she made quick work of her task. Mai had hoped that the time and space would help to clear her head. But she only felt her anger boil with the water and steep with the tea.

By the time she headed back to the emptier and quieter base she was crosser than she had been when she left. Lin offered her a silent nod as she set his drink down. Naru, of course, ignored her.

Mai sat on the couch.

She didn’t watch as John did his exorcism.

She didn’t help review tape of the activity.

She didn’t _assist_.

Naru didn’t scold her, and Mai‘s annoyance grew.

John came back and Jack, who had decided he had finished his nap, asked him to take him upstairs so they could go over John’s methods. A task that Mai felt would have been unnecessary if Jack had just decided to watch the exorcism for himself on the monitors. But she wasn’t even going to attempt to point that out to Jack.

The base returned to silence, save for the light tapping of keys. Mai had started to really enjoy this type of silence, now it only chafed.

Naru poked absentmindedly at the thick scab forming on his knee. Mai had first caught him fussing with his wounds while he had been watching the exorcism and he had continued doing so periodically for the last hour. Fed up, Mai walked over and put the first-aid kit next to him.

But she did _not_ offer to help him.

She couldn’t bring herself to head back to the couch so she drifted over to the window. The sun was beginning to set and twilight was falling over the forest in earnest. She wondered if the others had found the well. What had it looked like? Was it as much of a mess as Naru? And how could Naru of all people fallen in a well? If anything that seemed like something she would have done. 

The sky was shades of maroon and indigo. With cerulean and orange bleeding between the two. Their brightness heightened by the expanse of dark. But they could not last. Mai watched as the dark swallowed the last lonely splash of the light blue. It was better that way she decided, it had been so alone. No other blues for it to find refuge in…

The light flicked on above her and Mai jumped.

“Sorry ‘bout that Mai.” John’s quiet voice soothed.

“It’s ok John,” Mai said turning back to the room. “I should go…”

Mai was surprised to see that it was only she, John, and Lin. And the first aid kit. Her eyes narrowed. _Why that stubborn, narcissistic—_ Where had he gone anyway? She’d hadn’t even heard Naru leave. How long had she been staring out that window? She gave the window one last glance. When had it gotten so dark? Where were the others?

“Go where, Mai?”

“What?” Mai asked John with a smile. “I wonder when the others will be back.”

“Soon, I am sure. It has been over two hours since they left.” John smiled back, but Mai felt that it was missing something. She didn’t want to pry, so she didn’t say anything.

“Hey, I wanted to say you did a great job earlier.” John offered.

“What, at not doing anything?” Mai said darkly and instantly felt terrible.  “Sorry.” She added, hanging her head. 

“No worries, Mai. But I meant with Akemi. You were really great with her.”

“Yes.” Lin’s heavy baritone added, causing Mai to jump a second time.

“Oh.” Mai flushed. “I uh, was just doing what I could, right?”

Lin turned towards her, “You handled a dangerous and terrifying situation very well, especially with the baby complicating things.”

Mai blinked, she wasn’t prepared for this praise. In fact, she wasn’t sure if she would ever be ready to hear it from Lin.

“Yes, you are very good with children Mai.” John added.

“I love kids.” Mai responded. Happy for a chance to shift the subject. “Though I worry that I will drop the babies. They are just so squirmy.”

“Well I for one think you will be a wonderful mother.” John said.

“Eventually.” Lin added quickly.

“Oh yeah.” Mai laughed. “That’s going to be a long, long time from now.”

“Yes, focus on you for now.” John agreed.

“Yeah, I mean I got to get a good job before I could even afford to start saving up for it. Plus, I guess I would have to get married or something. I wonder if you don’t have to be married?” Mai mused.

John coughed, his eyes wide. Lin had a small smirk on his face.

Mai gasped as she thought back on what she had said.

“No, no no no. Not like _that_.” Mai yelped. Waving her arms in protest. “I just, I plan on adopting.”

Mai was not expecting the shock she saw on the men’s faces. Was adopting odd?

“That’s very,”’ John fumbled for the right word, “thoughtful of you Mai. Are you sure?”

“I think so.” Mai replied, confused by the question.

“After I lost my Mom, things went kind of…” It was Mai’s turn to search for her words. “numb for a while. It was like I couldn’t reach the rest of the world.”

She pointed across the room, “they were there." Pulling her hand to her chest she added, “and I was…” Mai stared down at her empty hand. “Someplace else.”

“Mai…” John began softly, but Mai continued before he could stop her.

“I lived with a teacher at first. There were people who watched over me. Made sure I was safe.” Mai’s attention stayed fixed to her palm. Her voice strong despite the quivering. “But they weren’t _family,_ you know. They felt different. Separate.”  John and Lin waited, silent and still.

 “But then I came here and there it was.” Mai smiled, her eyes glassy.

“There what was Mai?” John asked.

“Family.” Mai answered, her fingers curling closed. “Like it had just been sitting here waiting for me all along.”

“I really liked it,” Mai whispered. “Having a family again.” Her voice broke and she worried her lip for a moment before she could continue.

Lifting her gaze from her clenched fist. She looked out the window. Unable to meet the gaze of the men in the room.

“I realized I wanted to make sure someone else could feel like that.” She pushed the words out, the self-consciousness beginning to creep up her arms and legs. Freezing her in place.

“I’ve never felt like it would have to come from my body for me to feel like a child was mine. So I decided I would do my part to…” Her eyes stung, the colors of the room blurring and intensifying, and something pushed on her throat.

“To give someone else that second chance." Mai took a deep breath. She hadn’t meant to go that far. Once she had started though…

Mai felt the heat rise in her face as she wiped at it with her sleeve. She couldn’t help but notice the silence of the room now. It was louder than she remembered it ever being.

"But, I mean, you’re right. I’m too young to have really thought about it that much so who knows." She added, hoping to pull back whatever it was that she had just unleashed into the room.

It took her some time, but eventually she was able to turn back to John. Her fingers still tingling.

Before she could apologize for her rant the wind was knocked out her. And she found herself crushed and dangling between long strong arms. She looked at John in front of her for help. Had Bou-san snuck in here?

Tears fell silently down John’s face and he sniffed, “No fair Lin, I was gonna hug her.”

Mai’s eyes widened and her throat froze in its attempt to recall air back into her body. _Lin_ was hugging her. Lin. The strangeness intensified as John just shrugged and pressed himself against her front. Squeezing his arms beside Lin’s to reach her back. What was happening?

A moment later Mai could feel Lin’s arms attempt to unravel themselves without causing her to drop to the floor. John took the cue and stepped back as well. Assisting Lin with lowering her to the ground. Mai could only blink as thought still eluded her brain.

John wiped at his face and put a hand on Mai’s shoulder.

“Mai, you are a gift.” John said in his soft, kind voice.

Mai felt her embarrassment return tenfold. She searched the room for something, anything else to shift attentions.

“Mai,” Lin began. Mai wasn’t sure if she could handle any more attention. “I finished my drink some time ago and I was wondering if you would be so kind as to make me some more?”

Mai sighed deeply. Too exhausted to temper her relief.

“I would be happy to Lin.” Mai said with a smile gathering up the cups and heading for the hall.

She had only just made it into the hall when a shadow brought Mai to an abrupt halt.

She was about to apologize when every muscle in her body went taut.

She couldn’t move.

Not with Naru so close that she could smell the soap and moisture that still clung to him.  

Running into him was the last thing she wanted right now. And so close. If she looked up would he see how puffy her eyes had to be right now? Would he even notice? Did she want him to? She wasn’t sure, but she was sure that she didn’t want to look in his eyes.

Mai could feel the weight of his stare on her shoulders and she knew that if she looked up now she would be crushed. Crying in front of her obnoxious boss was not something she planned on adding to her evening calendar.

So she focused on what was at eye level. From this vantage point she could see the collar of his shirt, the top button of which he had forgone buttoning for the time being.  And the bottom half of his face.

The glob of blood on his chin was gone. The flesh was still raw, but the sticky mass had been washed away. This close, with the shell removed, Mai could see the soft, pink flesh punctuated by individual dots of red. 

A bead of water slid down to the point of his chin, spreading and diluting the red across the pink.

Intrigued, Mai followed the path the liquid had left upward. She watched, spellbound, as another bead of water gathered at the tip of his bangs. Soon, it grew too heavy for its perch and fell. Landing in his eyelashes before sliding, unnoticed, down his face. 

Too late, Mai realized her mistake.

Naru stared at her in a way that she couldn’t understand. Shock seemed a part of it. Not that she could blame him after their near collision. But there was something else, something she couldn’t figure out.

Anger? Fear? Concern? None of those felt right. None of those made any sense. The gaze was intense, but it’s meaning lost. It was as if it was in her peripheral vision or on the tip of her tongue. It was so close, yet unreachable.

_He_ was so close, yet unreachable.

Mai wished he would say something.

_He doesn’t look at other people the way he looks at you._ Gene’s voice rattled in her head.

Mai felt the heat, which had only just begun to cool, flare back into her checks. Now was _not_ the time to remember _that_.

“Mai,” Naru’s voice was a whisper and it caused a small shiver to run down her spine.

She gulped. “Yes, Naru?”

“Tea.” He finished. Holding up the empty mug and shattering the spell that Mai had found herself under.

Mai willed herself not to grab the cup and smash it on the floor in front of him. How could she have forgotten? Again.  How could she have let herself been pulled into these romantic delusions? Again. Tea. Tea! That was all he saw when he looked at her.

Taking the proffered cup. Mai stepped around her insufferable employer and headed for the kitchen.

“Oh and Mai.” Naru called after her.

Mai stopped. But she refused to turn to him.

“Don’t take too long, I need you to do the temperature readings for this evening before it gets too late.”

Mai twitched, the porcelain rattling precariously in her hands as she continued on her way.

For the second time in as many hours Mai found herself furious and in the kitchen. Despite his request to the contrary. No, in fact it was purely because of that request. Mai had decided that the tea could wait.

Instead she sat at the small table in the room. Once again forced to ask herself why she was here.

Mai rested her head against the tabletop.

She felt herself dozing. The room fading as the nothingness closed in around her.

_It was hot. So hot. And she couldn’t breathe._

_Why was he angry?_

_Had she not done what he had asked?_

_She had made it quiet. So very quiet. Why was he—_

 “Hey Mai, wake up.” Bou-san’s familiar voice drew Mai away from the dream and back towards the nothingness. A gentle shaking shuffled off the reaming darkness.  Opening her eyes Mai saw a more unkempt than usual Bou-san watching over her.

Mai reached for the glass in his hand and drained the cold liquid. Why was it so hot?

“Yes Mai, please help yourself.” Bou-san added sarcastically.

“Sorry.” Mai pushed out between deep breaths. “Just… really… thirsty.”

“I can see that. You are sweating like crazy.”

Mai cringed. She could feel it now. Causing her hair and clothes to stick to her.

“You ok?” Bou-san asked.

“Yeah.” Mai brushed the question off. How long had she been asleep? What had she been dreaming about? And _why_ was it so hot in here.?

Mai stood and went to open the window. The cool breeze helped. Mai sighed and turned back to Bou-san refilling his glass.

Wait, Bou-san!  That meant they were back from the well.

“So, what did you guys find?” Mai asked. Excited to have the case to once again focus on.

Bou-san shrugged. “Broken old well. Not all that exciting. It wasn’t much more than a pile of rubble with a hole in the middle. Though Yuuki said that it didn’t use to look like that. Sounds like Naru really did a number on it.” He took a deep drink.

“I did find an old sliver thing; Ayako thinks it was a rattle. It was mostly rust at this point. But it looks like it might have been pretty fancy back in the day. It was stuck in a gap in the rocks some ways down. What little sliver was left reflected my light when I was waving it around down there.”  

“Did you give it to Naru? Maybe he can do a reading on it and see if it has anything to do with the case.”

Bou-san finished off his drink.

“Of course. But it was a non-starter.”

“He didn’t see anything?” Mai asked.

“He said he wouldn’t read it.” Bou-san answered.

“He _what_?” Mai barked.

“I gave it to him, he held it for half a second, and then he put it down. I asked if he was going to check it. And he just said ‘no’ in that ‘you are dismissed’ voice that he does.” Bou-san shrugged and deposited himself in the chair Mai had just vacated.

“Not going to lie, I was pretty bummed. I wanted to see him do it. I wonder if he goes all limp or something?”

“I just—,” Mai’s sentence was lost to the force of her own indigent rage. “That’s it!”

With a foot stomp that left her numb Mai headed back to the base.  She was really beginning to hate the path between the two rooms.

“Naru!” Mai shouted as she entered the room. “What the actual hell?”

For once she could not care any less about all the faces that turned to her.

“Whoa there little miss.” Jack jumped in. “Good girls don’t talk like that. How about to you eat some chocolate and take it down a notch or two?”

Mai seethed. _What, the hell, had he just…said?_

Mai was ready to tell Jack exactly how _good_ girls talked. But Naru interrupted.

“Jack, I believe she was addressing me. So I will take it from here.” Naru explained heading towards Mai, his voice and steps brisk.

“I think it’s past time you—“ Jack beagan.

“I think,” Naru interrupted. “I have another matter to attend to right now, Jack. You and I can address your concerns at a later date.” Naru glared at the older man for a moment before Jack stepped away with a grunt.

Naru’s fingers wrapped around Mai’s upper arm, pulling her along with him as he put more distance between himself and the rest of the group.

“Don’t grab me, Naru.” Mai said shaking off his grip.

“I am so sorry,” he sneered back. And with a ridiculous flourish he added, “If you would be so kind as to join me in the adjoining room, Taniyama-san.  Perhaps we could attempt something that might at least _resemble_ a discussion.”

Mai huffed, but lead him out of the study, through the living room and into the foyer.  Not really concerned with privacy anyway that was as far as she made it before she turned back.

“Why are you determined to make this case impossible?” She snapped.

“Me? I’m not the one who has spent the entire time that they were supposed to be working playing house.” Naru shot back.

“Playing house!” Mai spat. “I only watched that baby because no one seemed to think that I was capable of doing anything else. Watch the baby. Make Tea. Should I make you a nice curry, like a good little woman while I’m at it? Or maybe I could wash the clothes for all of you.”

“Mai, you are being absurd.” Naru replied. His voice once again infuriatingly neutral.

“I’m being absurd! _I_ am?” Mai scoffed, throwing her hands up. “We used to be a team Naru. Do you even remember the Sasakuras?”

“Of course I remember Mai.”

“You remember me saving your sorry butt?” She asked pressing a finger into his chest.

“I remember you deliberately disobeying me.” He chided knocking the offending appendage away.

“Are you serious?” Mai countered. “I think your time away may have frazzled that big brain of yours.”

“I think that if it is matter of recall between the two of our minds, I am inclined to trust my own.”

“What are you even doing here Naru?” Mai felt the phrase slip out before she could stop it.

Naru, for once, had the decency to look taken aback.

“You think I want to be here? I have legitimate research I should be working on. Instead I’m stuck here, babysitting a group of amateur psychics.”

“Naru, do us all a favor. This time, when you leave. _Don’t come back!_ ” Mai spat. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He replied his voice dark.  

Mai’s hand rose, but she pulled it to her chest. Fingers gripping at her own shirt lest they should be left free to do something the back of her mind told her she would regret later.

Spinning on her heels Mai headed towards the dining room.

“Where are you going Mai?” Naru called after her his voice still sharp.

“I forgot to make your damned tea.” Mai shot back before slamming the kitchen door behind her, done. 


	11. Chapter 10

## Chapter 10-Lin

Lin had done his best to ignore the argument.

As the voices down the hall had risen he even took it upon himself to shut the doors between the study and the living room, in an attempt to provide the pair with a tad more privacy. He had met with more than one glare for that action.

But where the first slam had caught his attention. The crash that followed had him out of his chair and more than ready to intervene.

Swinging the door open the cold air was like a slap in the face.

Temperatures of that nature had no place on a mildly humid May night, but the questioned remained was the source of this world or the next. For once, Lin found himself wishing a spirit responsible.

As he made is way through the living room a delicate chiming filled the air.  The lights flickering a few times and the electricity in the air prickling across his skin. Soft gasps came from the others behind Lin. 

“It’s so strong,” Bou-san said in awe.

“You have no idea,” Lin mumbled to himself.

“I guess this means John’s exorcism failed?” Ayako asked in a whisper.

_You can’t exorcise this,_ Lin thought as the heavy feel of the air began to fade.

Lin scanned the foyer as he entered, fearing the worst. Above him, the crystal chandelier still swayed. It’s crystalline sounds fading as it slowed. Mai was nowhere to be seen. Broken pottery adorned the shoe rack that sat by the door. The intended recipients of the rack littered across the genkan.

The room was a sea of soft hues meant to reflect the light that filtered in through its large front windows during the day and amplify the spectacular glow of the large crystal chandler as it lit up the night.

The slight sway of the light left small patches of relative darkness that moved about the corners of the room.

Lin caught sight of Noll’s reflection in the corner of the full-length mirror as the light moved across him. Noll’s dark attire marking a stubborn shadow that refused to be cast aside by the struggle of the light.

“Wow. It did a number out here.” Bou-san commented, kicking at some of the strewn shoes. The others looked around at the destruction the ‘spirit’ had wrought. Lin kept his eye on Noll. Seated on the stairs, the whitewashed rails of the banister barred him from the rest of the room.  

The slump of Noll’s shoulders and his refusal to meet Lin’s eye in the mirror were enough to temper the reprimand that had formed in Lin’s mind.

 “Did you see anything, Naru?” John asked.

Noll shook his head as he stood.

“How could you have not seen anything? Look at this room.” Ayako demanded.

“Where’s Mai?” Bou-san added coldly.

“She was going to the kitchen,” Noll replied, his voice flat.

Bou-san took a heavy step towards Oliver pointing an accusatory finger in his direction. “You better not have made her cry Naru. Or you and I will have some things to talk about ourselves.”

“She is not crying,” Noll explained.

“I hope you’re right about that,” Bou-san replied.

Lin had a sour spot in his stomach that told him Noll wasn’t guessing.

The others made their way toward the kitchen and Noll’s shoulders slumped further down. His hand came up to massage his temple then pinch at the bridge of his nose.

“Are you ok?” Lin asked once they were alone.

Noll nodded taking his hand away from his face. “I was able to stop it fairly quickly. You were right the control is stronger since we added that extra segment to the form. I don’t even feel fatigued.”

“That is good,” Lin replied. “But, are you _ok_?”

Oliver looked confused.

“You had a fight, Noll, with Mai. It can be… unsettling.” Lin said eyeing the disturbed state of the room. He was rapidly coming to wish that Madoka had extended her stay in Japan just a little bit longer.

“On the contrary,” Noll turned his face towards the closed kitchen door. “for once she and I seem to be in agreement.”

A long moment later Oliver let out a sigh and began his way back towards the base.

“Noll…” Lin followed Oliver back toward the base.  He was unsure as to what he should say, but he knew it was time to say something.

“Mai pointed out that we have been lax in our efforts on this case and I am inclined to agree. It is time we step things up. We should get back to reviewing that footage.” Noll’s voice was beginning to pick up speed.

“I need you to get in touch with Yasuhara he was supposed to be looking into the history of the property. I want him to keep an eye out for anything to do with fire. That rattle, it was hot when bou-san gave it to me. And Mai mentioned woodsmoke. I smelled some myself in the woods—“

“Noll…” Lin tried a second time as they reached the desk.

“Behind the house.” Oliver finished ignoring the interruption. “The rattle though, I wonder if that could have any connection to why the baby was a target? We must assume that John was ineffectual in his exorcism. Which means that tonight the activity is likely to reoccur, if not increase. We need to get base level readings from all of the rooms now that the sun is fully set.”

“Noll.” Lin made sure his voice rose over Noll’s ramblings.

“Yes?” Oliver seemed confused and perturbed by the interruption.

“You need to talk to Mai.”

“I already spoke to her earlier about the temperature readings she will get to them soon, not to worry.” Noll dismissed before continuing on his tirade of next steps.

“I want to take another look at the tapes from the incident earlier. There was one segment where the interference isn’t as bad and you can clearly see the toy move across the room.”

“You need to talk to Mai about what is going on,” Lin replied his voice firm.

Oliver didn’t even stop his contemplations to acknowledge the statement.

“Based on the limited facts, I think a curse is out of the question. The lack of probable agents decreases the chance of a poltergeist.”

“You talk to her soon or I will.”

That caught his attention.

“You can’t—“ he began, but Lin had used up what was left of his more than ample supply of patience.

“ _You can’t_ keep her in the dark like this anymore. You asked for time. I gave you time. But what have done with it?”

Oliver had grown quiet once again.  More unwilling, then unable to respond.

“This is her family Noll. She needs SPR, these people. I’m not saying you have to stay, but you don’t have to tear it all out from underneath her either.”

“I know.” Oliver’s voice was almost imperceptible.

The urge to hurry him along was strong, but Lin waited.

“I will talk to her, …after the case.”

Lin tilted his head in disapproval.

“Just, I just need, a little longer. It has proven more difficult than I had anticipated.”

“You can still change your mind. We can find a way to manage it.”

“No. I said I would go. I will go.” Oliver replied.  “It is for the be—.”

Lin followed Noll’s gaze over his shoulder, where Mai was coming through the doorway tea tray in hand.

It had been obvious to Lin for a long while that Oliver attributed importance to his interactions with Mai. Lin had been somewhat amused as he had watched how quickly Mai had ascended the ranks of memorable non-pumpkins, to take a place among those select few whom Noll did more than put up with.  Her open nature, while contradictory to Noll’s own, seemed to put him at greater ease with the girl. 

But as Lin watched the struggle that played out on the face of a young man whose expressive spectrum had always ranged from mild apathy to outright contempt. He realized that the emotional attachment Oliver afforded Mai was far greater than he had originally suspected.

Setting down the tea beside them Mai gathered up her notepad and thermometer without a word. Lin watched Noll work his jaw before sitting and opening his notes.

Lin had always assumed that coming back to Japan was more about getting out of England, perhaps even some commitment to the work that had been built here, but could it be that there was something far more sentimental pulling Oliver back?

Where was Madoka when Lin needed her?

The others funneled back into the room, talking amongst themselves. The burst of noise drew Noll deeper into his work and Lin decided that they could continue this discussion at a later time.

Going through their things, he opened the first aid bag and made quick work of finding what he needed.  Sitting down next to Oliver he placed the iron supplements down next to the newly arrived cup of tea. Noll’s eyes gave the addition a cursory glance before returning to his work.

Lin sent a message to Yasuhara to get in touch with them if he had found out anything about the history of the area. Then he settled in to continue his transcription of the visual data they had collected.

They were re-watching the footage from the nursery attack when Noll pointed at the screen with his pen.

“Stop. Go back ten seconds.” Noll said moving his headphone to the side of his ear.

Lin complied, looking for what Oliver had noticed.

“Now freeze it. See there, that light distortion.” Noll ran his pen along a light patch on the screen. “See how it surrounds the block and then extends back?”

Lin squinted at the image.

“Yes, it could be a manifestation of some sort. Let me pull up the footage from the TIC for this time segment.”

Lin switched the feed on the review monitor.

“Look there is a corresponding temperature drop.”

He waited for Oliver’s confirmation, the intense fascination that would draw the younger man’s face to the screen, but it didn’t come.

“Noll?” Lin whispered turning to find out what left his companion so distracted.

Oliver’s head tilted as if he were straining to hear something. He began to rise but then sat again.

“What is it?” Lin asked, keeping his voice. Noll looked back at him, his jaw clenched but his eyes wide.

Was it his iron levels? The PK episode must have taken more out of him than he had been willing to admit. Lin double checked on the iron supplements that he had left for Noll. Their space and the mug were empty so Oliver must have taken them.

“Lin, I…” Noll began, before snapping his head toward the doorway. “I have a favor to ask.”

Lin was dumbfounded. Noll was asking for favors now? He must have been sicker than he appeared.

“Will you go upstairs and get Mai.” This close Lin could see Oliver’s shoulders tense as he spoke.

“Now.”

Lin didn’t ask, he just headed towards the back stairs. He had made it past the bend of the stairs when Mai’s halting but defiant English stopped him in his ascent.

“No, that cannot be true.”

“Look sweetheart,” Jack’s voice rang out. “I let this little attitude of yours slide when you were showing off for your boyfriend.”

“He is not—.” Lin couldn’t help but smile at the barely audible protest, but the amusement was short lived.

“Don’t interrupt me.” Jack’s voice was growing louder. “Shut your mouth, do as your told, and let the professionals take care of things. Now be a good girl and finish the task that was given to you.”

Lin glared as he reached the doorway. Jack was leaning over Mai. He had a tight grip on her upper arm. His fingers pressing deep into her flesh as he squeezed. She was so small in front of him. More than twice her weight and almost half again as tall as she, Jack’s presence was oppressive and Mai was terrified. Her eyes wide and glassy.

“Davis may have let you walk all over him, but you are working for me now,” Jack said releasing her arm with a push that caused her to stumble back a step. The thermometer tumbled from her hand as her body curled protectively in on itself.

Lin took a step towards them.

“Naru?” Mai whispered.

“What?” Jack asked bewildered. Lin paused, entranced by the change that was sweeping  over her.

Mai’s chin lifted, her spine straightening as her head rose.  Her eyes, previously wide with fear, softened. Her lip, which she had been chewing, curved upward, clearing away the dread that had held her so firmly in its grip. If it didn’t seem impossible, Lin would have said she looked reassured.

“No.” She replied, her voice steady.

Jack glared at her.

“I work for Naru.” She told him with a challenge in her voice as she stared, unwavering, up into Jack’s green eyes. “And I would _never_ work for someone like you.”

Jack’s hand rose, Mai stood her ground but squinted her eyes shut as she flinched in anticipation of what was to come.

On instinct, Lin’s fingers came to his mouth.

_Restrain._ He commanded, his sharp whistle piercing the air.

As instructed, the shiki flew in to grab Jack. Immobilizing him as he stood over Mai, a quivering bundle of self-righteous anger.

Jack let out a small grunt as the shiki wrapped themselves firmly around his limbs.

“This will be your only warning,” Lin said matter-of-factly.

Jack noticed Lin, his eyes widening.

“You have physically threatened an employee and I will be reporting you to the main office.”

“What do you think you are do—?” Jack yelled back.

S _queeze_. The shiki obeyed and Jack let out a satisfying squeak. His face pressed up by the invisible force that now wrapped itself around his neck.

“If you attempt to touch her again. I will send you back to them,” Lin informed his captive, his voice low. “a piece at a time.” Lin squeezed harder. Even across the room, Lin could see that Jack understood the earnestness of the threat.

“What _are_ you?” Jack choked out, eyes bulging as his face grew redder. His bulk strained against the invisible force of the shiki.

“I am not the one you need to be afraid of,” Lin told him in the same dark tone.

If Noll had been here? Seen this? They would have more than some tossed shoes and a broken vase to deal with. Noll had never been one to tolerate bullies. Lin had heard the stories and seen what had happened to cruel children that had thought to have a go at the twins.

It was true that Noll had never shown any aptitude for PK LT, but Lin was not willing to test that assumption. Should Noll arrive now? The results could prove deadly, for either party.

“Mai,” Lin called out. His voice was still strained but no longer held the sharp edge it had when he had addressed Jack, “if you are done in here Naru wants you to bring your results back to him at the base. If you are not ready yet,” Lin glared harder at Jack, “I can wait.”

“No. I am all done in here.”  Mai said backing away from Jack. The thermometer she had dropped skittering across the floor before she bent to reclaim it.

Lin stepped to the side to let Mai past him. Before turning one last time to Jack. “You seem tired Jack, I recommend you find yourself a hotel to stay at tonight. So that you can recuperate.” Lin instructed his shiki to release Jack.  “We have everything well in hand here.”

The sudden freedom caused Jack to sag and stumble; his feet seemingly unprepared for the daunting task of supporting his frame once again. Jack stomped from the room his steps jerky and uneven.

The men’s eyes locked on one another until Jack reached the top of the stairs. Jack broke the gaze and descended the staircase with lumbering footsteps that reverberated in the home until he slammed the front door behind himself.

Lin watched the door for a moment more. A small sound to his left brought his attention back to Mai.

“Are you ok?” Lin’s voice was softer still.

Mai tore her gaze from the top of the stairs to look up at the new man who towered over her. Lin kneeled, painfully aware of how his stature could continue to exacerbate Mai’s uneasiness.  

 “Thank you,” she whispered, “if I had been alone I don’t—“ Words failed and she bit down on a trembling lip. The sentiment was heavy and it settled in Lin’s chest with an ache.  

She wobbled and Lin reached out to grab her shoulders.

“Take a deep breath. Yes, now let it out. Slowly.” Lin guided her. “Better?” He asked and Mai nodded.

“Sorry,” She said wiping at a tear that had broken free. “Today kind of sucked you know.” She added forcing an unsteady smile. 

Lin nodded in agreement.

“But thank you for coming to get me.”

“You should thank Naru,” Lin told her. Mai should know who had been concerned for her in the first place, even if Noll had been unable to act on the feeling himself.

“Naru? That’s right, I heard him—.” She whipped her head around, looking. “Where?”

Lin’s eyebrow rose. _Heard him?_

Quick footsteps on the stairs pulled their attention. Lin and Mai turned to see Bou-san sprinting up the steps.

“Lin, Naru told me you would need some help with Mai?” He sounded baffled at the notion, but a quick look in the girl’s direction shifted the confusion to concern.

“Jou-chan, what happened?” Bou-san said coming towards her in support.

Mai drew in a shaky breath and Lin watched as the steely resolve that had gotten her this far shattered and Mai deflated into Bou-san offered arms, tears streaming down her face.

“It was so scary.” She whispered into his chest.

“Well, it’s over now. Lin and I are here and nothing is going to happen. Right?” Bou-san said running a hand through her hair. Mai nodded.

Lin took a step back, he knew that his part in this intervention was over. Better to leave the rest in the hands of someone more qualified.

“Let me look at you, huh?” Bou-san prompted.

 “I’m sorry,” Mai said shaking her head. “Will you just hold me, for just another minute?”

“Mai, I would hold you for an hour, a day, if you need me to. Whatever you need.” Bou-san replied with a squeeze.

Mai wrapped her arms around Bou-san and clutched at him as the sobs wracked her body.

Lin made his way down the hall to the back stairs. He had never been very good at providing comfort. Guidance, support, he knew his way around them. But consolation, the emotional act of placing a balm upon an aching soul, the effort felt clunky and stunted.  He also worried that his own misgivings lead his actions to appear insincere to others. Better he just go. Mai’s health, physical and emotional, was in good hands.

Noll didn’t turn from his work at the monitors when Lin arrived back to the base. But as Lin resumed his place in the seat next to him Noll pointed to the screen.

“I have it queued, I believe we were right,” Noll said. “Look at the darker area to the left there.”

Lin nodded in agreement and began saving the clip.

Noll wrote some notes in his notebook.

“Thank you,” Noll told to the pages before him as he finished his writing his eyes glancing towards Lin.

Lin nodded.

Noll gave a slight nod in return.

“You ready to explain how Mai ‘heard you’ when she was up there?” Lin asked.

The commotion of Mai and Bou-san returning to the base shut Noll’s mouth before he could answer. Lin was not surprised when Yuuki followed them into the room, a collection of papers clutched in his hands.

Bou-san got to work rolling out sleeping gear on the floor while Mai and Yuuki discussed the papers he was now handing her.

“I recommend you get some sleep Noll it has been a long day.”

Oliver looked ready to argue, but decided against it, instead he turned to John.

“John, you and Bou-san have the first watch. Bou-san in two hours you wake Lin to switch, John you wake me in three hours.”

“Sure thing!” John replied.

With that, John and Bou-san stepped up to switch places with them and Lin found himself tricked into getting some sleep himself.

What he could only presume was two hours later Lin was being jostled awake by Bou-san. A quick glance around the rooms showed that Ayako was still unconscious on one of the couches while Noll had claimed the other.  Mai was on some blankets propped against Ayako’s couch reading the papers she had received earlier while periodically sipping from her mug.

After deciding that Lin was indeed up Bou-san turned his attention to the budding bookworm.

“Alright Jou-chan, It’s super late how about you put that up for tonight and head to bed.”

“Oh but it’s getting really interesting. It’s so sad. Eloise was basically sold into marriage by her father so she traveled all the way to Japan to meet her husband. But she didn’t even know the language and he really just wanted her as a novelty item.” Mai yawned. “And he travels all the time so now it’s just her and the baby and she’s so alone and” Mai yawned again, stretching before taking a gulp of her drink.

“Besides,” she added. “Yuuki made me this cup of cocoa and it is just finally cool enough to drink.” Mai smiled up at Bou-san.

“Fine, but you go to bed when John does. Got it?”

“Yes,” Mai said though yet another yawn.

“If you can make it that long,” Bou-san added ruffling her hair. “Now scoot you are on my bed.”

Mai stood, but wobbled, spilling her drink. Bou-san reached out and grabbed her before she could fall back down.  

Mai responded by tasting the air and scrunching her face in disgust. “Ugh, tastes like I ate a yen.”

“Bed, now,” Bou-san instructed, steering her away from the spilled on blankets to the other set on the floor nearer Naru’s couch.

Lin vacated the armchair he had been napping in and joined John by the monitors.

“Is it true that Jack left?” John asked Lin.

Lin nodded.

“Where would he have gone?”

Lin shrugged. John gave Lin once last worried glance before turning to his book.

The hour passed slowly, Lin composed an email to Martin and Madoka regarding what had happened, John read, and the house was silent. Save for the slight snores that soon began emanating from Bou-san’s pallet.

But when Lin looked at the clock he was surprised to see that an hour and a half had already passed since he had awoken. Only in these wee hours could time drag and then skip so quickly. A trick of an exhausted mind.

“I figured he could use a bit more sleep. It’s been a long day.”  John whispered with a smile.

Lin nodded. “Soon though.”

“I’ll wake him at four. I just got a bit carried away with my reading, you see.” John added.

Lin nodded and returned to his work.

Before long Lin could feel the night start to take its toll on him.

The hum of electricity and the whirring of fans drew in the senses, becoming the rhythmic breathing of the inanimate room. The sound of rasping breath and shifting sheets caressed the exposed skin on the back of the neck, leaving muscles clenched and hair raised. Light from the monitors sent shadows flickering around the room, hiding on the edges of sight. The darkness reaching out when unobserved only to scurry back with the flick of an eye. 

Lin was used to it all, but that didn’t stop the cold ache that fell between his shoulders as the brain concocted all manner of possibilities. The fact that he knew so many of those unsavory ideas could be true did nothing to temper the chill.

The quiet mutters of John and Noll as the former woke the latter helped to break the late night spell.

Noll ran a hand through his disheveled hair as he came to sit back in the chair he had vacated only a few hours earlier. With a slight sneer, he used a pen to gently push the rattle that John must have moved further from his position.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take a look?” Lin asked anticipating the glare that followed.  “If we are looking for more potential information on the background of this case that is our fastest option.”

Noll’s hand hovered over the silver, fingers clenching and extending as he stared past Lin to the still forms resting in the room.

“Shall we weigh the pros and cons?” Lin asked.

With a quick grunt of frustration Noll allowed his hand to fall onto the rattle before pulling it back with a hiss. Flipping his palm over Lin could see the raised pink flesh where Noll’s hand had come into contact with the metal.

Lin retrieved the burn cream and handed it to Oliver.

“What did you see?” Lin asked.

“Fire.” Noll grimaced as he applied the cream. “Isolation and despair. Whatever they did, they were desperate. And it wasn’t good. The memory I was able to retrieve was fragmented. They wanted acceptance, admiration, but they found ire. And the fire roared and the baby cried. I can still hear it crying.” Oliver brought his unburnt hand to his head.

Lin nodded. The scene did seem particularly gruesome, something about the constant wailing of a child in the midst of fire and pain made it much more visceral. So much so that he could hear the crying now as well. It was piercing and tugged at a primal urge to intervene.

“Uuugghhh. Oshiro-san better take care of that baby or I am going to lose it.” Ayako groaned burying her head under the pillow. “This is why I don’t work the nursery at the hospital.”

Oliver and Lin’s eyes met and the cries grew louder.

The source of the sound bounced around the room. Lin followed it with his gaze. Deep down he knew it was pointless, the likelihood of a full apparition was minimal at best. But a deeper baser part of him could help but seek out the source. To quell the increasing pounding of his heart with knowledge.

With a grunt Ayako sat up, grumbling about the inadequacies of infant care. Before the realization hit her, the color and anger draining from her face. A swift kick had Bou-san grumbling at her feet.

“Shut your complaining and get up!” She commanded in a clipped voice, eyes following the rising cries.

The air grew heavy.

Lin could feel the weight of it pressing against him, slick and oily.

“Do you smell smoke?” Bou-san called out covering his mouth with his shirt.

“Yes,” Noll replied as he walked towards the others sniffing at the air. “Woodsmoke.”

The air was thick with it; Lin could almost see the haze as it filled the room. His mind told him to cough, to run from the accompanying heat.

But it wasn’t hot.

It was cold.

Very cold.

The only ‘smoke’ that was filling the room were the plumes of breath that came from the SPR members mouths as they stood in the living room.

The tinkling of the chandelier returned, offset by the base of a heavy banging all around them.

“That’s at least three criteria.” John pointed out.

A static sizzling filled the air.

The lights began to waver, flickering on and off.

 “Four!” John shouted over the growing din.

“We can see that!” Ayako yelled back.

“Where is the focal point?” Naru asked as they neared the others. His eyes still searching for a manifestation or focus to follow.

“WHERE’S MAI?” Bou-san demanded.

Everyone began to look around them, the visible movement was jagged and spasmed in the flickering light.  Shadows scampered across the room. Preventing more than cursory glances with their mocking spread.

The knocking increased in pace, walls groaning in objection. The buzzing of electricity mounted, pressing against his eardrums, and leaving Lin working his jaw to try to alleviate the strain.

The illumination from the monitors swelled, blurring out the rest of the room in its intense glow. With a deafening pop, the light was gone.

The after image of the screens burned into his retinas left Lin blind. While the sounds were muffled by the ringing that had replaced the pressure in his ears.

 “Still here,” John’s voice faded in and out, “Mai.”

Sounds crowded in beneath the whine, the high soprano of the chandelier juxtaposed by the bass of the knocks. Struggling for purchase between the two were John’s yells.

“Not moving. Can’t tell.” Bits of sentences reached him, lapping like waves against his damaged inner ear. “Breathing. Mai! Ayako!”

Dark shadows made their way through the grey film that was his view of the room. As his eyes continued to adjust they took the shape of his colleagues crowded together. Their attentions drawn to the floor and the form that rested there.

Mai lay still on the floor. Asleep, despite it all. 

Like the eye of a hurricane, Mai was serene as mayhem rained down around them.

It felt wrong.

Lin knew the others had come to the same conclusion.

“Mai!” Bou-san yelled as Ayako felt at the girl’s throat.

Mai’s back arched, her body stiffening, and the sounds began.

Lin remembered the haunted look in Oshiro-san’s eyes as he had described waking to hear his wife’s choking. The panic that had overtaken his voice as he had relived his helplessness.

Lin could feel that same sick feeling bubble up within himself as he watched Mai.

Mai’s strangled gasps managed to drown out the other noises. Each hollow choke and gurgle piercing his heart and causing his chest to tighten.

Ayako tilled Mai’s head back searching for a cause they all knew she wouldn’t find. Bou-san began to chant, John reached for his rosary on the end table, and Noll.

Noll was gone.

“Mai, we need you to wake up now,” Ayako called to her running a worried hand over Mai’s stiff shoulders. “Mai we need you to come back to us.”

Lin looked for Noll. Without the monitors the room was dark, but not pitch. One of the table lamps at the far side of the room had not blown with the rest of the lights and he could easily make out the basic features of the others.

But Noll had disappeared.

The sound of glass shattering in the foyer added to the cacophony and Lin ran. Watching Ayako hovering over Mai over his shoulder for as long as he could.

In the foyer, the sounds were quieter. The knocking father away and overshadowed by the lighter sound of the Chandelier.

Recent memory drew Lin’s eye to the bottom of the stairs. But Noll was not there.

Taking in more of the room, he could see that the floor glowed.

Hundreds of flecks of light littered the floor catching the moonlight that came in through the large windows. Like a room full of miniature stars. Surrounding a black hole.

Lin sprinted across the room to where Noll lay. The splinters of broken mirror crunched beneath his shoes and made for slick going.

“Noll!”

Sliding to a stop Lin could feel the tiny shards of glass bite into his knees as he kneeled and looked Noll over.

A stream of blood snaked it’s way down his face from a slice above his left eye.

Lin felt Oliver’s face, grimacing at the sheen of sweat that had already formed along his skin.

Noll’s eyes fluttered open, struggling to focus.

With a grunt, Noll reached out for a larger shard of the mirror and pulled it to eye level. His eyes boring into the glass, anticipation clear along his features.

Red lines ran down the reflection as the keen edges of the broken glass sliced into his fingers.

“She’s breathing!” Ayako cried, her voice heavy with relief. Lin turned to see her cradling Mai’s head in her arms.

Lin looked back to find Noll still staring at his reflection.

Then his eyes softened and his lips twitched upward.

“Thank you, Gene,” Noll whispered.

Lin felt his breath catch. The twitch expanded.

Following Noll’s eye Lin could see a fully expanded version of the same smile grinning back at them.

Gene.

And was that a shock of auburn hair beside him? The fragment wasn’t large enough to see more.

Suddenly the auburn was gone and so was the smile.

Gene’s face turned to the side, anger replacing the glee of moments before. Soundlessly Lin watched Gene yell before the screen fell from view. Shattering into pieces as it impacted with the ground. Lost with Noll’s grip on the conscious world.

They weren’t done yet.


	12. Chapter 11

# Chapter 11-Eugene

_Gene…._

The sound brushed against the nothingness.

Reverberating in the space. Reaching out for meaning. An object to label with itself.

_…Gene…_

A portion of oblivion stirred, recognition prickling at the edge of understanding, then turned back ignoring the call.

He was asleep.

Asleep.

The moniker wasn’t correct, but he also found himself failing in attempts to better describe it.

In simpler terms, he ceased for a while. His consciousness canceled by a temperate cloud that erased all other things. But that made no sense. So it was better to say that he fell asleep.

_Gene!_

The cry tore into the soft essence of the void. Fighting back against the fog that kept him in this place.

Gene stirred. Once again becoming aware of the tingling of arms and hands, legs and toes.

It was always a struggle to wake. To gather up what made up ‘him’ and to separate it from the rest. With each reforming he could feel something slip past the assembly, lost to the void. Like grains of sand tumbling away as he was poured back into shape. The shell filling a little less with each attempt.

It usually took time to sift out the ‘Eugene’ from the rest of the nothingness. But this time the pull was strong, commanding. It needed Gene and it need him right now!

_GENE!_

_Noll?_ Gene asked, surprised by his own ability to address the appeal. His mind still lacking the capacity to tell him more than a Noll was a who and it was the who that summoned him.

_Gene!_ Relief now, the urgency dampening, but not replaced. _I need you to get Mai. She’s there with you. Gene_ _—_

_Mai?_ Gene asked. The word meant something, no someone. Mai; and his brother, Noll.  No, Mai was not there anymore. Oliver had promised. They had left. They had to—

_—save her. You’re the only one who can get to her. Gene._ The relief from Noll was fading, replaced with impatient exasperation.  

The anger snapped against him, curling his fingers and setting his jaw.  It pushed the remaining fog from his mind, and he remembered.

_You said you’d go._

He could see Noll now, staring as if through a window in the fog. Hands pressed against the glass that existed on the other side.

_I know._

Gene felt the grief that flashed before Noll’s walls separated them once again.

_You promised._

_I know._ Oliver pushed back harder.

Annoyed, Gene ignored Noll’s lack of explanation and began to search for Mai. He could usually find her without too much difficulty. Even on the occasions when he wasn’t the one to bring her here.

_Can you find her?_

_I’m looking._ Gene shot back, irritation flaring as his search yielded no results. Sure Noll was an idiot, but he used to be an idiot that at least listened to him. 

In fact, Noll hadn’t just listened, he had relied upon him.

Noll needed an outfit, Gene knew what to wear. Noll needed to eat, Gene knew what to get. Noll threw ‘rocks’ at the boy who had called them freaks in the yard, Gene explained it was because he was angry and hurt. Gene had never known a time where Noll hadn’t needed him there to translate the messy everyday into something that could be catalogued and filed.

He wouldn’t argue against all the people who said that Noll’s mind was something impressive, but for every amazing feat his brother could accomplish there was a mundane task that he would never grasp. Inspiring and inept.

Truly though, Gene had never minded his brother’s codependence. It had made him both integral to Noll’s interactions with the world while highlighting the differences between them. It kept them together and set them apart.

Not to say that Noll was a drone who always did as Gene said. But, when it mattered. When he had asked… why wouldn’t he have listened now.

Gene searched the coolness of the astral plane for the familiar warmth of Mai’s living soul.

She had reminded him of a bonfire. Lying there the first time he saw her. The light and the heat that emanated from her pushing against the bleakness of this place.

_She’s dying… my fault._

Noll’s ‘voice’ was almost inaudible, the mental push wavering, choked, as it came to settle in Gene’s mind.

Gene reached out again. His own desperation furthering the push. 

Gene wondered what roll the transference had to play in all this, it had to have some influence or why else would Noll feel responsib—

_The transference!_ Gene blurted out. Noll looked back at Eugene confused. _Does it work like us?_

_It has its similarities, but it is different. More loose. General emotions. I have attempted limited communication. Though I am unsure as to how effective_ _—_

_Can you determine the proximity or location of the emotions?_   

_Yes, but it is not consistent. There is nothing at the moment. When I look for her she is simply, not there._

_Damn._ If it got them into this mess, it would have been nice if it could have helped them out of it.

_Wait._ Oliver called out, the vacant worry falling from his features. _She is not here, because she is there. Perhaps if you used it to look for her…_

_How would I?_

_You said it. It is like us. So, think of it as a three way call.  You use your connection to me to find commonality between the frequencies_ _—_

_Noll keep it simple._ Gene interrupted.

_You use our link to find the line that leads to her. See if you can’t use that to amplify whatever sort of tracking system it is that you are using. Actually, what kind of system are you using to search for her? Is there a sort of telepathic inter connectivity that exists on that_ _—_

_Noll!_ Gene admonished. _Less hypothesizing, more finding Mai. So open up._

_I’m not sure what the proper methodology_ _—_

_Just think about her. Anything should help._

Gene felt the door between them swing wider. The walls that remained tumbling to the ground.

Memories crashed into him in rapid succession. Each carrying an attachment. A piece of Noll’s perceptions of Mai.

Gene pulled back, eyes wide. He hadn’t—

_Can you find her?_ Oliver asked.

_I didn’t know._ Gene stumbled over the words. _How? I thought_ _—_

_Can you find her?_

_Yes. But Noll_ _—_

_Then find her._

_I will. I promise. I’ll send her back._ Gene’s focus sharpened on her presence prickling at the back of his mind and let himself be pulled towards Mai.

The darkness around him faded away. It was hot. Humidity left a sticky sheen along his skin as the leaves of the trees rustled in the weak breeze. Ciadas buzzed all around him. The smell of wood smoke turned him towards a large estate in the clearing ahead. Dark clouds billowing up and stalling above the center of the home.

Gene reached out again. Mai was close, but not here. Where was she? Why was she so faint? He moved closer.

A loud crack brought his eyes up to the ceiling that now rested above him. Snakes of fire moved across the wood.

“How could you Eloise?” A man’s voice roared above the flames.

Gene looked across the long room, but struggled to make out where the sound had originated through haze of dark smoke.

He could feel the line open to Noll still. But he said nothing. What could he say? He had found a traditional Japanese house, it was on fire, but there was no sign of Mai.

“I should have known there was a reason no one from England was fool enough to marry you.” The voice continued.

Light broke though the smoke as the fire got the better of one of the outer shoji and it crumbled away, smoke pouring out through the new escape route.

One plus to being dead. You didn’t breathe. So the smoke billowing around him did not choke or burn his lungs. The fire on the other hand. He could feel that. The heat of it buffeted against him in waves. And he didn’t want to test what would happen should he decide to let it get too close.

As the smoke thinned. Gene was able to make out the figure of a man in kimono hunched across the room.

_Gene._ Noll’s impatience had gotten the better of him. _What do you see? Do you see her?_

_It’s an old house, it’s on fire. There’s a man in kimono he’s got something, someone. He’s dragging them by the throa_ _— Oh shit, Mai!”_

Gene slammed the door to Noll shut. He could feel him pushing back, but he couldn’t keep it open right now. He couldn’t relay this.

Mai clawed at the hand around her throat, her mouth open and gaping in its search for air, and her back arched in an attempt to pull away from the pressure that held her. Her own kimono, which had once been beautiful, hung ragged and loose around her frame.

Noll knocked harder, but Gene refused him. The connection swelled, pressing against the inside of his skull. Gene brought a hand to his head.

“You’re no Mother!” The man screamed before coughing violently. His hand squeezing tighter with each hack.  Gene tried to pick his way across the fire riddled tatami, but it was slow going. Fear of burning and collapse pressed heavy against the demanding insistence of his brother’s connection and clouded his focus.

Then, a surge of energy hit, but Gene wasn’t ready. It bounced back; far too strong and shattering the connection. The pain of it dropped Gene to a knee with a cry. What had happened? Where had Oliver gone? His eyes watered and everything blurred.

_Noll?_ Gene tested. Fear numbing away the heat of the room.

_Noll!_ Gene pushed harder. But there was nothing.

The bawling of a baby rose over the crackling of the fire. And the man’s head shot up.

“Yua?” He cried dropping the now slack body of Mai to the floor and ran.

Gene pulled himself up and made his way over to where Mai lay. From his new vantage point he could see there was another body in the hall. The crimson of their blood splashed across the delicately drawn plum blossoms of the shoji.

He wasn’t here for them though. It was already too late for them.

Reaching down to grab Mai, Gene focused on the vast nothingness that occupied the astral plane. Separating them away from this particular vision.

The heat faded. The roar of the fire and the cries of the infant vanishing with it.

Mai was unmoving in his arms. Gene pulled the kimono closer together. Covering the bruises across her chest and shoulders as best he could. Her neck was red and raw with hints of purple already bleeding in. But she was here. He had found her. She was safe now.

Only, he couldn’t feel it. That familiar bonfire, it was gone. She was cold and heavy in his arms.

“Come on Mai.” Gene encouraged her running a hand over her face.

Gene nearly broke when he felt Noll’s presence reaching out for him once more. Faint, but determined. He latched on as tightly as he could. Relishing Oliver’s familiar presence, until—

_Gene, did you get her?_

Gene’s throat caught. His eyes and limbs tingling.

“Please, Mai.” Gene whispered to her. What would he tell Oliver? How could he?

_Gene?_

Why did he have to keep asking? Stop asking. Gene closed his eyes pushing against the emotions that threatened to make their way back to his brother.

Mai stirred, a low groan breaking her lips.

Gene gasped in relief, a shocked smile splitting his face.

_I have her Noll. She’s here._ Gene pushed back widening the connection. Over his shoulder he saw the bloodied, but relieved face of his brother.  He shifted Mai in his arms in the hopes of letting Noll get a better view.

“Thank you, Gene.” Noll told him. And Gene didn’t need their connection to feel the sincerity of it.

Gene beamed. He had done it.

Mai squirmed in his arms, pulling herself from his grip. 

Turning his attention back from Oliver he let her go, more than ready to see her smile once again.

Gene jumped at the bright blue of the eyes that stared back at him from Mai’s face. His face compressing in anger.

“Who the hell are you?” He yelled snatching at her wrist as she tried to flee.

Gene racked his brain. Where had he gone wrong? He had searched for Mai. He had _found_ Mai. He knew it was her. Noll’s feelings had been like a homing missile.

“Let me go. This was my chance. Let me, go!” Her fingers pried at his own, desperate to remove them.

This was defiantly Mai, but it wasn’t. It was someone else at the same time. The eyes gave that away, as did the accent. No not accent. She had spoken to him in English. What was the name that man had said?

“Eloise? Is that you?” Gene asked switching to English himself.

The eyes went wide.

“Who are you? Release me! I have to go.”

“My name’s Gene, I’m a medium. I can help you.”

“You will help me?” She stopped pulling and looked up at him. “Will you help me go back? I must go, this is my chance. We have worked so hard.”

“I’m afraid that isn’t how it works Eloise. We don’t get to go back.” Gene told her, softening his grip on her wrist.

“But it will be different this time.” She insisted.

“No, Eloise. You can’t go back. But you can move on. You can leave this place. Be at peace.”

 Large blue eyes searched his face.

“If I go, will you come with me?” she asked gripping his arms.  Hope and need mingling on a face that tore away at him.

Gene found his reply was lost. Set adrift on a sea of possibility. Mai’s face smiled up at him.  He could feel himself begin to smile back.  He could see them again, the memories; when she smiled, when she laughed, the way her face would flush as she worked herself from despondency to determination. He could watch her all day; she was…fascinating.

Gene blinked, smile falling from his face. Those, were not his memories.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, his head shaking. “I can’t. But I can help you. If you just let her go then we—”

Eloise scrunched Mai’s face in disapproval, her arms pushing him away once more.

“No,” she responded. “She is going to help me. She _wants_ to help me.”

“She cannot help you…” Gene struggled with what to say. He used to be better at this. “She has to go back, she can’t stay here. She isn’t ours to keep. _Yours_ , she isn’t yours.” Gene flushed as he stumbled over his words. “Eloise you cannot take her life to regain your own. It doesn’t work like that. That is wrong.”

A smirk fell over Mai’s face. 

“She could stay here, with you.” The blue of Eloise’s eyes shown with a light that made Gene very uncomfortable.

“She would like that. She doesn’t want that life. I can see what she has seen. I know what she feels. She is trapped, like I was. You can be her escape.”

“No.” Gene corrected her. “If you can truly see her thoughts, then you know that is not true.”

“But it is, it is you I see when I peer into her heart.” Eloise brought at hand to Mai’s face, her eyes fluttering closed. “Would you know of her desires for you?” She asked her voice growing heavy as her other hand trailed along the side hem of her kimono. “Her fantasies?”

“Stop,” Gene warned, face hardening. His heart was pounding with what he told himself was growing agitation. “You’re confused, that’s not my face.”

Eloise popped open one eye and stared at him. The other flowing suit as she tilted her head. Inspecting.

Then she smiled again. It looked wrong. Her first smile had reminded him of Mai, but each subsequent one moved towards something else. Something sinister.

Gene swallowed as she came closer. He repressed the urge to step back as she brought a hand to his chest.  

“You mean your reflection? Yes, I see him too. But he is not you.” She tugged at her robe, a small slice of cream colored flesh flashing stark against the soot covered blue and gold of the ornate cloth.

“She doesn’t want to go back. What does she have there? She is alone. Not like here.” She finished running a hand along his cheek.

“That is not true.” Gene explained turning his head from her hand.

“She is unwanted.” She purred as her hand slid down his side.

“She is not.” Gene pressed his nails into his palms. The pain pulling his attention back from the mind numbing tingling that followed Mai’s hand across his body. 

“She is unloved.”

Gene caught her wandering hand in his own.

“I’m sorry. But that, is simply not true.”

Her smile fell.

“I don’t know what happened to you Eloise,” Gene told her in a soft voice. “And I am so sorry that you were treated so poorly. No one should ever have to feel like that, let alone die believing those things to be true. But if that is what is holding you together then you are wrong.”

Eloise twisted Mai’s face.

He had never seen a spirit take hold of another soul like this. The possession of a body required either a wearied soul or the owners consent. It was very difficult for a spirit to just force its way in. He could only assume the same had to be true in this case. But to what end?

He was getting nowhere with Eloise. She was too far gone. But, if Eloise had access to Mai’s consciousness as she claimed then perhaps he could use that to reach Mai.

“Mai, I need you to listen.” Gene told her switching targets and languages.  “Mai you can stop her, but you have to want to.”

“No!” Eloise screeched as she began to struggle against him.

“Mai, I don’t know that much about your life. I don’t know all the people in it. But I do know one idiot scientist who needs you to come back.” Eloise went stiff in his arms.

“Naru?”  Mai’s voice was quiet, it reminded Gene of when they had first met and his chest ached. He looked down to see hazel eyes staring back at him.  The brown was faint and mottled between the greater blue, but visible.

“I promised him I would get you home.”

“Home.” Mai repeated.

Her brow furrowed. Eyes squeezing shut as she crumpled forward.

Gene held her up as best he could with the unexpected addition of weight.

“Stop it!” Eloise screamed pushing against Eugene’s embrace. “Stop lying! He doesn’t care for her. He left, he always leaves. Everyone, always leaves.”

“That’s… my fault.” Gene explained. “Please Eloise. You have to let her go back.”

Gene switched back to his stronger chance.

“Mai, you have to understand it wasn’t Noll, it was me, I made him go. I was such an idiot. He needs—. Maybe you don’t see it. Hell, I didn’t even see it. But if you had felt—“ Gene bit his lip as he choked on the words that were not his to tell.

It felt like there was something inside of him that wanted to break. It beat against the inside of his chest and railed in his ears.

“I made a mistake Mai. I didn’t understand.” It was so heavy; he had never felt so heavy. His throat burned and cracked as he forced the words out. “I wanted— I don’t know what I wanted.”

Gene took a steadying breath, his hand moving up to cup her face. A face that he would give anything to see smiling again. Brown eyes shining as they looked at him.

“No.” He paused again, willing the rest of the words to come. “That’s a lie.”

Gene searched for recognition hidden in the wavering wrongness of Mai’s eyes.

“I knew, but I couldn’t have it.”  Gene ran his thumb across her cheek. Would he ever see her smile at him again? Her eyes?

The thing snapped. Breaking off and fluttering away into the darkness.

“And I _hated_ that he could,” Gene told her in a sharp voice, his thumb pressing harder into the flesh of her face.

“Why? Why does he get everything?” Gene demanded.  Panic twisting his fingers tight around her jaw.

“He can’t even appreciate it. He doesn’t know how.” His mind was racing as it pushed out the words faster and faster.

“He has always relied on me. He needs me.” Gene squeezed, shaking her head in his grip. “But then you, you” He shook her harder. “You don’t get to take him. He’s my br—

“Gene?” Large brown eyes laced with fear stared up at him. “You’re hurting me.”

He pulled his hands back with a jerk. His head and heart pounded, the rage still pulsing through fingers that had burned to feel Mai crushed beneath them. He had wanted to hurt her. Reveled in the idea of her suffering. Suffering like he—

“Gene.” Mai’s soft voice cut like a knife.

“Don’t… I’m not… safe.” He said stepping back further.

“Like that would stop me.” Mai replied.

Gene turned to look at her again.

“Wait,” he squinted at her, “you’re you.”

“She left. When you were,” Mai struggled for the right word, “upset.”

Gene grimaced. He had frightened her, as he should have, he had frightened himself.

“I’m sorry.” He offered. He wanted to explain, but he didn’t understand it. Where had it all come from? The panic, the jealousy, the rage. He could see their roots. But they had overpowered him. Magnified to a degree far higher than he had ever felt before.

“It’s… ok.” Mai replied with a small smile. And Gene could feel the calm settle deeper.

“To be honest it’s all a bit blurry.” Mai continued. “I remember reading, I was so tired. Then, I was there, in the story. Yua was crying, she was always crying. And it had to be quiet. Everything had to be quiet.” Mai’s eyes glazed. “So I made them quiet. I made them all quiet.” Her mouth fell open in horror her knees giving out beneath her. “I…”

“That wasn’t you, Mai.” Gene cut in kneeling before her. “That was Eloise.”

Mai nodded, swallowing and running hands over her arms.

“Where did she go?” Mai asked blinking back tears that threatened to over flow. “When she left. Do you think she crossed over?”

“No,” Gene said shaking his head. “She was fixated on the world. There is no way that she would have passed on.”

“Then where did she go?” Mai asked stifling a yawn.

“I don’t know. But I know where you need to go.” He told her with a grin. “I think it’s time I sent you home. You have been out well past curfew young lady.”

Gene place a hand behind her back and his other hand on her shoulder to encourage Mai to lie down.

Mia followed his lead and came to rest on the ground.

“Ok, close your eyes.” Gene guided her.

“Thank you,” Mai interjected grabbing his hand. “For coming to get me. I mean.”

“You should thank Noll. He’s the one that sent me.”

Mai let out a short bark of a laugh.

“Something funny?” Gene asked placing her hand against her chest.

“You are the second person to tell me that, today.”

“Sounds like a busy day.” He replied running a hand over her hair.

“You could say that.” Mai replied. “Wait, weren’t you saying something about Naru earlier?”

Gene grinned, wondering if she had any inkling of the light that spread across her face when she said his name?

“Go back to sleep.” He encouraged. “Someone is waiting for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am afraid that things have taken a turn for the melodramatic. They will calm down a bit after this. I promise ;)
> 
> I also apologize for the length. Eugene's chapter, like his life, is shorter than the others. (though it is not the smallest chapter)
> 
> About Gene moving on, a few of you have asked about this and I when i get to chapter three in my reedits I will try to help make this clearer. But when he was saying goodbye to Mai it wasn't because he was moving on. It was because he is attached to Naru so with Naru leaving Gene would be going too. And Gene and Naru were not planning on Naru having to come back to Japan. Let me know if you have any more questions or send me an ask on tumbr at tiffotcf.


	13. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Sorry for the delay in updates as a consolation prize please accept my longest chapter yet.

## Chapter 12-Oliver

 

Oliver flinched as Ayako dabbed at the wound above his eye.

“Don’t be such a baby.” she chided.

“It is involuntary.” He grumbled. Opting out of sharing that it was her cool fingers and not the alcohol covered cotton swab he felt compelled to flee from.

“You’re lucky I didn’t decide you needed stitches,”  Ayako explained pulling out the box of butterfly closures.

Oliver needed a distraction. Something to keep him from scrambling backward while Ayako manhandled his face.

His fingers were hot and stiff beneath their wrapping. He had never considered he would have need of their deluxe first aid kit. No, he had had someone else in mind when he had splurged on the larger model.

His eyes fell on Mai’s sleeping form on the couch and he twitched again.

“I haven’t even touched you yet.” Ayako admonished. “Do I have to make Lin hold you still?”

Already leaning forward, Lin looked all too ready to assist in his humiliation.

“No.” Oliver shot back.

 “Are you sure you feel all right?” Lin asked, again. Was this four or five times now that Lin had repeated the question in the less than twenty minutes since things had calmed down. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?”

“Yes, I am alright.” Oliver explained again. “And if anyone needs to go to the hospital it is Mai.”

“I would take her if that idiot monk would get back here with his car keys. Of all the times…” Ayako shook her head.  

“Besides, I can’t find any physical injuries on her to treat despite, what, it sounded…”Ayako looked up taking a deep breath.

 “So, I will help the patients I do have. Lean forward Naru, I want to get more light on that cut.” She grabbed his head and pulled it towards her.

Ayako pressed the skin of his wound together and began to adhere the bandages, while Oliver clenched his teeth and suppressed the hiss that wanted to escape. 

He watched her work. She was focused to be sure, but her eyes were glassy and she had to pause to wipe at them more than once.

Oliver wondered if he was expected to say something? Something to, diminish her melancholy?

“There,” Ayako ran a smooth thumb around the wound and its adhesive supports. “That should hold it all together.”

Perhaps he should explain that it was his fault. Though, that was likely to increase her emotional response. Secondarily, it would serve to redirect the anger that was sure to form towards himself. It was not ideal. He looked at Mai. Not ideal, but appropriate. 

 “It’s m—“

“Lin told us that you did something,” Ayako cut him off, her gaze following his to Mai’s sleeping form. “Something that pulled her back.”

Her hand moved to his shoulder.

“You saved her.” She finished with a pat that left him flitching.

No. It had been Gene that saved Mai. That was what Gene did, he helped people.

Oliver had merely made a poor attempt at correcting his most recent mistake.

He had _known_ better than to have tried to read the rattle.

“You did a good job, Naru.” Ayako smiled at him.

Oliver felt uneasy.

“I think you should rest now Noll.” Lin told him.

“Your color is not good,” Ayako added. “Do you feel dizzy?”

The room dimed and brightened, shapes blurring around the edges.

“Yes.” Oliver said.

“He could have a concussion,” Ayako said.

“I’ll get the van,” Lin said, rising.

“I am not, going to the hospital.” Oliver forced out.

“Noll…”

“It has passed. I will just rest here.”

“Let me look.” Ayako grabbed his face and peered into his eyes. She was beginning to make a habit of this.  

“Your pupils aren’t dilated and you have had no trouble holding a conversation. So yes, I think rest would be best.”

Oliver got up and headed to the empty couch taking a hasty seat. Lin’s chair scrapped as he stood.

“Where do you think you are going?” Ayako chided. “I still have to look at those knees of yours.”

Oliver almost smiled at the heavy sound of Lin sitting once more.

Settled in on the couch, he soon found himself drifting.

“…gotten him so frightened?” Ayako’s voice floated over.

Oliver stirred but soon felt himself start to fall again.

“Lin, please.” Ayako’s voice drifted past his consciousness once again. “What is going on?”

Oliver wondered who she was speaking of, but didn’t care enough to open his eyes and inquire.

“It’s not my place to say.” Lin replied in a low rumble.

Ayako sighed.

“Fine. But just remember, we are here and we could help if either of you would let us.”

“The sentiment is appreciated.”

“The sentiment, you are both, so weird. Naru’s still a kid but you should…”

Oliver’s mind skipped. They were talking about _him?_

What had they been talking about? Fear?

Ayako thought _he_ was frightened? Of what? Had he exhibited some sign? His heart rate was not elevated, Ayako had checked it in her examination and had stated that it seemed fine. What were other criteria for fear? A sense of immediate threat to one’s person. There was nothing of that sort. Was he missing something?

He ruminated on potential expressions of fear in recent memory until the weeks began blurring and faded to nothingness.

Oliver became aware of a chill moving up his arm. Opening his eyes he found himself looking into Mai’s brown ones. She was crouched in front of his resting place her cool fingers wrapped around his arm. She seemed to be in the process of placing the limb on his chest when he awoke.

His limbs refused to move, and his eyelids felt like lead. Bright shafts of pre-dawn light left the room in a red grey haze. How long had he been out?

“Naru,” Mai spoke slowly, pulling on each of the syllables.

She stared at him, eyes shifting over every detail of his face. It was unnerving, but perhaps she was looking to ground herself. Assure her brain of the reality of this world and wash away the after effects of whatever it was she had just experienced. He had often done the same when coming out of visions. 

“Like a mirror. Amazing.” Mai said reaching for his face with her free hand.

“Are you ok?” He asked sitting up. Freeing his arm and providing some much-needed space. 

He scanned the room. Ayako and Lin were nowhere to be seen.

“Yes, I made it,” Mai told him.

Oliver stood, leery of her continued proximity.

Mai followed him but proved unsteady. Her legs wavered and she took a few steps back, arms flailing to keep her balance. Oliver caught her elbow.

“You should sit,” he said. “I will get Ayako.”

“Stay with me.” She whined as she wrapped her fingers around his arm once again. Oliver gave the digits a passing glance before looking back to her.

Her eyes were wide. Her lip trembling.

“Mai, the others will want to know that you are awake.”

“Please, Naru. Just for a moment.” She pleaded squeezing his arm tighter.

“Mai,” Naru tried to keep his tone light. “I need my arm Mai. I need to go—“

“You _always_ need to go.” Mai groaned. “I thought, Gene said…”

Oliver froze in his attempt to pull his arm free.

“Don’t you care about me Naru?” She asked leaning closer, pressing against him.

His mouth was open, he could feel the strain in his jaw.

Where was, well, anyone?

Oliver’s heart was pounding, slamming frantically against his chest. He needed to leave. The itchy energy of being trapped rocketed up his spine, short-circuiting his muscles and preventing them from moving.

“Stay, Naru,” Mai said, pushing his jaw closed with a small finger.

She was tired, Oliver rationalized. Disoriented, she needed comforting from whatever it was that she had witnessed. But why did it have to be him? There were others more qualified. He could send her Monk again. That seemed to work well last time.

She stared up at him, eyes wide.

When he didn’t move, she smiled. Her finger slid up his face, over the course scab on his chin, rasping against sporadic facial hair.

He attempted to stifle the shiver that betrayed his own reservations. Mai was falling apart. He could not let her know how uncomfortable he was. Her comfort was what was important now.

“Naru?” Mai asked, voice so close he could feel the heat from her breath. He twitched.

Looking down he saw her smile had widened, but her eyes had slid half closed. Was she feeling better? Perhaps it was almost over?

Her face moved towards his, the gap between them too small to offer the time needed to receive, process, and respond.

His first thought was how large her face seemed this close. And how cool her skin felt against his own. But those thoughts passed as the pressure against his mouth shifted and his stunned brain finally finished the processing phase.

The response phas,, moved faster. 

His neck jerked back, body following as he pulled away. His arms coiled, springing forward to push against his restraints.

Mai’s eyes popped open as she fell back towards the cushions of the far couch.

Oliver retreated backward, arms out and ready to defend. When the back of his legs hit the other couch, he nearly yelped. Without taking his eyes off Mai he navigated around it.

With the furniture resting firmly between them, he took a deep breath. What had just happened?

She seemed to be coming out of her daze. Her eyes snapped back to Oliver, narrowing.

He gripped the back of the couch, legs itching to run. It seemed his fight or flight reflex had finally decided to make an appearance.

“Why did you do that?” She yelled at him.

“Why did _you_ , do _that_?” He shot back.

“I thought…” Mai trailed off.

“Mai!” Bou-san’s excited voice carried into the room. “You’re up—“

“I _hate_ you, Naru!”

Oliver felt the words hit, but distantly. His mind was still screaming from earlier. Walls up and reinforced after that sneak attack.

“What’s going on?” Bou-san’s voice rose above Mai’s as he, John, and Ayako came into view.

“Nothing,” Oliver said.

She had been confused. That had been all. There was no reason to speak ill of her to the others.

Mai scoffed, wiping at her eyes.

“I quit,” Mai whispered.

The screaming stopped.

“Mai, what do you mean?” John asked heading towards her.

“I mean, I never want to see _him_ again!” Mai spat, finger drawn accusingly.

Oliver felt the urge to scream. See him? He wasn’t the one who had, _attacked_. He never wanted to see _her_ again.

But it was a lie. The wrongness of it kept the words locked away. It would be so much simpler though. If he could just encourage the distance.

“Fine,” Oliver replied, giving a small nod of agreement.

The others crowded around her, asking all the questions he couldn’t.

“I’m tired,” Mai replied, her voice still strained. “Can I rest?”

“Of course, you should.” Ayako soothed. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?”

“I feel much better. I just want to rest some more.”

“You can use my room.” A new voice said from the edge of the room.

“Yuuki!” Mai’s eyes lit up as she noticed him headed her way. “Yes! Please, that sounds lovely.”

“I’ll get your bag.” John offered.

Mai stood. Still unsteady, she reached out for Yuuki’s arm.

“Do you want me to carry you?” Bou-san asked.

Mai laughed, a light titter.

“No, thank you.” She replied. “Yuuki can assist me, right?”

“Yes,” Yuuki replied staring down at her with a smile.

Oliver turned away from the group and headed back towards the broken equipment. Stepping behind the monitors, Oliver allowed his shoulders to drop. He slumped, resting more weight than he knew was appropriate on the rack. He could feel the sigh that had been waiting to escape start to slip past him.

“Well, I hope you’re happy.” Bou-san admonished.

Oliver tucked the release away with a straightening of his shoulders and turned to Bou-san.

“What did you do?” Bou-san demanded.

Oliver’s fingers curled. The current threatening to rise.

“ _I_ , didn’t do anything.”

Bou-san let out a hollow laugh.

“Well, doesn’t that just sound familiar.”

Crossing his arms Oliver pushed against the current, not now, not again. He couldn’t handle another.

“You aren’t even going to try and stop her?” Bou-san asked, short-lived clouds forming with each word. 

“I don’t make Mai’s decisions for her,” Oliver replied.  “If that is what she wants, who am I to stop her?”

“You’re supposed to be the head of this little operation. Don’t you think it’s time you start acting like it?”

“I am no longer—“

“Spare me, Naru.” Bou-san interrupted. “I don’t know what’s got you so sacred. But I really wish you would just get over it.”

Bou-san left without waiting for a reply, not that Oliver would have had anything to say should he have stayed.

He focused his breathing, he had to stop flying off the handle like this. It didn’t matter, he reminded himself. The research mattered. The knowledge. The emotions didn’t…

Why did everyone seem to think that he was afraid?

Lin walked past him and began pulling the connectors from the back of the monitors.

“I hope you are in the mood to fill out insurance forms when we get back.” He said looking at the melted rubber casing of one of the power cords. 

“Lin,” Oliver paused, looked over the empty room, and lowered his voice anyway. “Do I appear to be in some form of distress?”

Lin blinked.

“Both Ayako and Bou-san seem to be under the impression that I am afraid of something.”

“You heard that?” Lin asked.

“And yesterday, Mai was contemplating, hugging me.  Well, before she was thinking about hitting me.” Oliver shook his head. “Her thoughts are very, sporadic and intense.”

“They are just worried about you Noll,” Lin said. “We all are. It’s obvious that you are under a lot of stress.”

“I admit the transition is not going well, but I am unsurprised given the candidate that was chosen as my replacement.”

“That’s not,” Lin began, “I wish Madoka was here.”

“She would be a more appropriate choice.” Oliver agreed.

Lin brought a hand to his forehead.

“And what are you doing reading Mai’s thoughts?” He asked.

“It’s not my intention. She projects very strongly when she is emoting.” Oliver explained. “Which has surprisingly often.” He added his voice trailing.

“Not that surprising,” Lin muttered.

“What’s that?”

“Maybe someone should teach her how to control that.” Lin offered instead.

“That will be unnecessary once we leave.” Oliver reminded him.

Lin sighed and went back to pulling at the wires.

Oliver picked up one of the frayed wires and rolled it between his fingers the tangy sent of burnt plastic strong in his nose.

“I’ll have Bou-san and John help me get these packed away. We should be ready to leave in about an hour.”

Oliver looked back at Lin, “Leave? Who said we were leaving?”

“Noll, the whole reason we took this case was to show Jack how we operated. Jack’s not here, you passed out once already, and Mai nearly—“

“We have a case to solve.” Oliver pointed out.

“With what equipment Noll?”

Oliver twirled the wire once more.

“I seem to recall that one of us used to be the mechanic for a rather prestigious team of field researchers.”

Lin gave a slight chuckle.

“I also have a vague memory of several lectures on the values of, what was it, ‘focusing less on the theoretical and more on the practical aspects of the job.’”

“ _You_ want to learn about equipment maintenance?”

“Want, is a strong word. Though I have recently come to recognize there may be some value to the skill set.”

Lin shrugged and bent down to more closely examine the monitors and their cables. Oliver noticed the grimace the passed over Lin’s face as he bent his knees. White lines glaring though the black fabric of his pants as the bandaging pushed through cuts in the cloth. His own knee ached in sympathy.

“There is a chance we could salvage a few. I have some extra wires and fuses in the van.” Lin said after a few moments of inspection. “I can’t say how many we will get out of this attempt. And if the cameras or the radar were damaged I don’t have a good way to ensure their calibration is correct. Any data we gather would be useless from a research standpoint.”

The research…

Oliver nodded. He had suspected as much.

“Alright then, you’re the boss,” Lin told him as he stood back up and walked from the room.

The manual labor proved as tedious as Oliver feared it would. The unfamiliar dexterity of the tasks combined with the bandaging on his right fingers left him struggling. Eventually, he found a pattern that allowed for a small flow which kept him from completely losing his mind.

The others, despite the glowers he received from Bou-san and Ayako and the gloomy glances that came from John, had not attempted to engage him throughout his work. He decided to add ‘looking busy’ to the, very short, list of pros that this type of activity presented.

The filth, which seemed to come from everywhere and now covered his hands, was on the cons side. The bandages on his fingers were frayed and caked with it and he couldn’t decide if the stinging emanating from beneath them was from use or if the wounds themselves had become contaminated.

He wanted to check and change the dressings, but he reminded himself that he should wait until he was done or he would just have to change them again. Instead, he focused on finishing wrapping the electrical tape around the damaged wire.

“Mind the glass there Masako.” John’s voice came from the other room. “We are still in the process of cleaning up.”

Masako was here already? What time was it?

“Woah, you aren’t kidding.” Yasuhara’s excited cry echoed through the house. “Looks like a bomb went off in here!”

Oliver stood, wiping his hands on a work rag he was sure added to the amount of filth instead of decreasing it.

“You guys have all the fun when I’m not around,” Yasu added dropping his and Masako’s overnight bags near the rest of the luggage. “I saw Bou-san outside, he said that the equipment blew? That sucks.”

 “Yes,” Oliver replied.

“Are you going to have to—Whoa, boss! What happened to your beautiful face?”

Oliver brought a filthy finger to the butterfly closures above his left eye.

“Nothing.”

“It’s alright. It helps with that whole man of mystery thing. I’m digging it.” Yasu replied with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“Yasuhara, while I will not argue against your keen understanding of ascetic value. We have spoken on the topic of keeping fraternization to a minimum while you are at work.”

“No flirting with the boss at work. Got it.” Yasu nodded, then smiled. “Later than.” He added with a wink.

Oliver sighed.

“Noll, let’s try this one again.” Lin pointed at the monitor nearest him.

“Where’s Mai?” Yasu asked.

Oliver pugged in the electrical wire he had just finished rewrapping.

“She’s upstairs resting,” John said coming into the room with Masako. “She, well… she had a difficult night last night.”

Lin hit the power converter and a quick shower of sparks flew in front of Oliver’s face, causing him to jump back.

“Nope,” Lin said, turning the power off. Oliver shot him a quick glare.

“… nothing lasting.” John was explaining. “The physical injuries faded away very quickly. There is still the slight issue of—“

John looked at Oliver and gave a small smile.

“Well long story short, Mai was tired after all of that so Oshiro-san offered to let her to sleep in his room.”

Yasuhara looked confused. He opened his mouth to ask something. But Oliver was tired of pleasantries, there was work to be done.

“Masako,” Oliver interjected. “do you sense anything?”

“Yes,” She told them in little more than a whisper.

“There are two spirits here. But there is something odd about them, they are not where they are supposed to be…” She muttered to herself. “I would like to walk around the property to get a better understanding.”

“I’d be happy to show you around Masako.” John offered. Masako gave him a small bow and the two left the study.

“What is going on? Bou-san seemed pissed about something and John mentioned an issue.” Yasu asked.

“Yasuhara, were you able to find any of the information that we asked you for?” Oliver asked.

“Oh, of course.”

“Did you find anything about a fire?”

“Oh yeah, the fire. I had to look way back for that. A house fire. I mean there hasn’t been anything here that could burn for so long. I thought about the great fire. But there was nothing on the property at that time. So, I looked into the family history to see if they had any kind of record on it.”

“The Odas?”

“Yes, the family was primarily focused on trade down in Yokohama but from what I can tell they acquired this land around the time of the Edo earthquake that was approximately Ansei two. The whole area is still good forestry country and after the earthquake nearly the whole of the city needed to be rebuilt. I bet they made a killing on the lumber here. But more importantly, this location gave them something their established trade business couldn’t.”

Yasu paused and looked at Oliver expectantly. Oliver stared back.

 “The ear of the shogunate,” Yasu explained. “The younger son, Katashi, he had gotten himself in with the shogunate through the course of the rebuild. But he wasn’t there just to make a profit on wood. No, Katashi was a smart guy. You see this was all around the time that Japan was in talks regarding opening their borders. You know what I’m talking about right?”

Oliver blinked.

“You’re killing me here Naru. Perry? America showing up and demanding Japan to open its borders? These are key points in this country’s history here Naru.” Yasu sighed.

“Ok well, soon there were trade treaties popping up every few months. And Katashi was right there. Casually mentioning his family’s trade business. I mean this guy was obsessed. He even took a ship to England as part of an envoy. He got a contract for his family in Yokohama. And he even married a British woman. Uhh, hold on.”

Yasuhara patted at his pockets for a moment before pulling a folded paper from his back pocket.

“She was a merchant’s daughter. Let me see. I can’t remember her name.”

“The fire Yasuhara, how does this play into a fire?” Oliver asked.

“Yes, the fire,” Yasu pushed up his glasses which had slid as he looked over the paper in his hands. “The marriage didn’t work out so well. His wife and their infant daughter were killed a little over a year later.”

“Was it investigated at all?” Oliver asked.

“Naru this was like the 1860s, so no, not really.” Yasu explained, sitting on the edge of the desk.

 

“Besides there was nothing to investigate they knew what had happened. Foreign sentiment was not positive at the time. And I mean really, not positive. Hell, the marriage wasn’t even recognized by the Japanese government and I can only imagine the strings that Katashi had to pull to get her to his estate here instead of having to leave her in Yokohama.” Yasuhara shook his head.

 

“Do you believe that her location directly contributed to her death?” Oliver asked. A violent death in a hostile foreign land certainly lent itself to difficulties in moving on. And the infant would explain the child’s cries they had heard. And possibly even the rattle. He was no expert on the history of Japanese children’s toys but an ornate metal rattle struck him as more European.

 

“I don’t know, but we do know that by the time the Odas were killed there had already been a number of xenophobic attacks on the British Legation in Edo. So the odds were against them here.” Yasuhara sighed.

 

“The attack occurred in the summer of Bunkyo two. Katashi wrote to his wife’s father that he returned from Edo to find his home on fire and the household lost. They never pinned down the exact culprits, but considering the sentiment at time there was a wide birth of options. Afterward, Katashi moved back down to Yokohama for a time but eventually moved to England to serve his family business abroad. So, there’s your fire,” Yasuhara finished.

 

“Now you want to tell me why everyone one around here is being so weird?” Yasu asked.

 

“I can’t speak on the emotional state of —“

 

“Mai quit this morning.” Lin said from behind Oliver.

 

“What! No. Naru what did you do?”

 

“Why does everyone seem to think that I had a role in her decision-making process?” Oliver asked.

 

“Naru…” Yasu stared at him, face flat with disbelief.

 

John returned, alone.  Oliver was not about to miss the opportunity to turn the conversation.

 

“Where is Masako?” He asked.

“She asked if she could speak to Mai. Yuuki offered to take her to see if she was awake.”

The whir of unsteady machinery kicked on, monitors flickering to life. Blue-grey images of the home appearing on most them.

“Great job Lin! Oh good, it looks like she was up.” John pointed at Mai and Masako on the far right of one of the monitors. 

As they watched, the smile fell from John’s face.

Masako’s long sleeve covered most of her face, but whatever she had said behind it had Mai’s finger pressed nearly to the cloth.

Masako pulled herself to her full height and the two women stared at each other for a moment longer. Even through the screen the tension was palpable. Then Masako spun on her heels and proceeded towards the camera blocking the view of Mai further down the hall.

When Masako passed Mai was no longer alone. Yuuki stood with her, a hand on her shoulder, though it was he who looked as if he needed reassuring. Mai brought her hand overtop of Yuuki’s. She looked up at him saying something that brought a smile to his face.

She smiled back, her hand moving to his chest as his moved to cradle her face. His shoulder’s hunched as he leaned forward—

The monitors went black.

Oliver waited. Staring at the dim shapes reflected in the black mirror.

“What happened?” John asked.

“Oh, sorry.” Yasu held up a cord. “I must have hit it. Oops.” Yasu lunged forward as the cord dropped from his fingers.

“Clumsy me. I should really know better by now considering how long I have worked with this equipment.” Yasuhara retrieved the fallen cord and made to plug it back into the power converter.

 “Masako. Is everything alright between you and Mai?” John asked as she came back.

“Of course, Mai is a dear friend” Masako replied.

“Oh, ok. That is good to hear then.” John said, more than mildly confused.

 “Naru.” Masako’s quiet voice was next to him.

 “What have you discovered?” He asked releasing stiff fingers from the edge of the desk.

“There are indeed two spirits here. A woman, her spirit—“

“It is most likely the wife of a former resident.” Oliver interrupted, impatient to begin now that they had more information available to them. “Yasuhara has learned that she met a rather unpleasant end.”

“Yes, but Naru.” Masako attempted again.

“John, get Bou-san. Perhaps we can use the rattle to help remove the spirits, I strongly suspect that the object belonged to them. I need the two of you to get started as soon as possible.”

John nodded.

“You can’t!” Masako objected grabbing John’s arm.

“Masako,” Oliver’s voice was brisk. “I do not have time to get into another debate with you concerning the merits of cleansing over exorcism. These spirits have already shown themselves to be powerful and violent. The sooner we take care of things the better.”

“The one spirit is dangerous, but the other.” Masako chewed gently on the sleeve of her kimono. “I need to speak to it. I wish to hold a séance.”

“That seems like a waste of time.”

“Naru, I insist. We must reach out to this spirit before you do anything else. Naru you see the spirit, I think it is—“

“Suit yourselves.” Oliver told them. He was thirsty and they were holding up his work.

He headed to the kitchen. Feet slamming to a stop in the doorway when he saw Yuuki by the table.

“Shibuya-san.” Yuuki jumped.

“Oshiro-san.”

Oliver made his way across the room, grabbing the kettle and bringing it to the sink to fill. His shoulders ached and his headache was coming back. The pressure was already building behind his eye.

He could hear Yuuki resume his shuffling. The crinkling of wrappers and shuffling of cloth assaulting the quiet that he had attempted to seek out.

“Oh, you must be Oshiro-san.” Yasu said entering the room. Oliver glanced over his shoulder to see Yasu casually leaning against the door frame. Smile dialed up to eleven.

“I…am, I’m sorry I don’t”

 “I’m Yasuhara.” Yasu replied with a flourish, but no bow.

“I, should I recognize—“

“Oh, silly me. I had assumed you knew, considering how close you’ve become with Mai. She and I are _very_ close.”

Oliver watched Yasuhara advance slowly on Yuuki. His eyes were dark, but the smile hadn’t left his face. He couldn’t figure out what Yasu was doing, though he rarely could.

Yasu looked Yuuki over, slowly. Yuuki gulped.

“It’s just, normally anyone that she gets that close to, well, by now she would have told you.” Yasu stopped in front of Yuuki.

“Told me what?” Yuuki laughed, nervous.

“Well, that we share, of course.” Yasu purred, fiddling with the string of Yuuki’s hoodie.

Yuuki’s face flushed as red as the bag on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, I….I told….get drink.” Yuuki held up a bottle in his hand and squirmed past Yasu. The hoodie string pulling through Yasu fingers as he retreated.

Yasu turned to Oliver his Cheshire grin only widening.

“You frighten me sometimes Yasu.”

“Boss, you wound me.” Yasu came to lean against the counter near Oliver a hand to his heart. “And here I thought that I had almost enraptured you with my boyish charms.” He added with a fluttering of eyelashes.

“Charming though you may be Yasu, you know better than that.”

“I can dream. Though I would dream a little easier with some company.” Yasu replied with another wink.

“Yasu, we talked about this.”

“Fine, you want to talk about something else?” Yasu’s voice dropped it playful persona. “Let’s talk about how that kid had his hands all over Mai and you were just going to let him walk out of this room.”

“I don’t see,” Oliver grumbled. “Why that would be any of my business.”

“Sure.” Yasu replied. “But if you don’t mind, next time could you not take out your non-business on unsuspecting cutlery.” Yasu pointed at the mangled spoon in Oliver’s hand.

Oliver dropped the warped metal and grabbed another to dish out his tea leaves with.

“Fine. Let’s look at from another angle. Are you going allow this kind of fraternization from one of your employees? It’s not very professional.”

Oliver raised an eyebrow, “Is that really the avenue you wish to pursue?”

“Look, I’m just saying it seems a little fast. I thought you would want to talk to her.”

“I don’t think she would be interested.” Oliver explained as he poured the hot water into his cup.

“Boss, Mai can get riled up but she’s not—“

“She kissed me.” Oliver told his tea cup as he watched the dried leaves swell with the moisture.

“Oh shit.” Yasu whispered. “Are you ok?”

Oliver stared at his mug. Yasu waited. Slowly, painfully, Oliver allowed his head one small rotation to the left followed by the right.

He felt Yasu’s hand hover over his shoulder for a moment, before it pulled back.

“I’m sorry. I’m sure it was a misunderstanding. You know Mai, you know she would never do some—“

“She told me she never wanted to see me again.”

“Damn, that seems overly harsh.”  

“It’s for the best.” Oliver explained giving his leaves a stir. “I can’t stay, it’s better this way.”

“Naru, about that. I know I don’t know even half the stuff you do about this kind of thing, but do you really think running is the best option? I mean from what I read on Transfer—“

“Who...” Oliver’s head shot up, he glared at Yasuhara. “Madoka. I should have known.”

“Madoka was just worried about Mai. We all were.”

Oliver’s eyes went wide.

“Does everyone know?” Oliver hissed.

“No, no. We didn’t tell the others.” Yasu reassured him. “Just, Mai and I hung out the most. So, Madoka wanted me to help to, you know, keep an eye on her.”

“And?” Oliver prompted.

“And, she missed you.”

“You were supposed to be monitoring her for potential responses to the transference not making ridiculous assumptions about her mental state.”

“Did you miss her?”

Oliver turned back to his tea, scooping the loose leaves to the side to spoon out.

“So yes.” Yasu replied.

“I never said—“

“It’s ok to say you missed someone Naru. I missed you. You really help make all of this interesting. I mean it’s not every day I get to hang out with a genius.”

Yasuhara flashed him another smile.

“But seriously, you guys were, kind of like friends. At least I think Mai thought you were. And then you just disappeared. She was bummed for a while, but you know Mai she got over it.  When Madoka told me what was up. I mean, do you really think that sneaking around is a better option? Why not just talk to her about what is going on? Wouldn’t control work better if it was coming from both of you.”

“I, made a promise. I can’t risk…”

“Naru?” A voice called from the door

“No,” Yasu moaned. “Do you know how much work this was?” He complained turning to the door.

“Oh, John.” Yasu deflated. “Damn, I can’t be mad at you.”

“Masako says that she can do the séance right away.” John continued, eyeing Yasuhara’s strange burst of unhappiness. “We were going to set up in the dining room.”

Oliver gave him a short nod, finished the removal of the tea leaves from his mug, and headed for the study. Ignoring Yasuahara’s groan that followed him out of the room.

The set-up of the séance did not take long. They found blankets to place over the curtains and the home had so shortage of candles. The day had turned overcast and rainy so their battle against the late morning sunlight was already lessened.

While he still felt that taking the time to try to engage with what had already proven to be such a dangerous spirit was both a waste of time and an unnecessary risk.  Oliver couldn’t help but feel that small spark of excitement that came from seeing skilled practitioners at work.

Pacing in the back of the room as Masako, John, Ayako, and Monk settled in at the table, he noticed without surprise that Mai and Yuuki had decided not to join them. Finishing an adjustment on the camera Lin came to stand in the back with Oliver.

The group at the table took hands as Masako lead them through the beginnings of the ritual. The candle flames danced in an impalpable breeze as Masako called upon the spirit to join them.

Perhaps Yasu was right about talking to Mai. She normally would have jumped at a chance to see Masako at work. He should defiantly say something to her, after the séance of course.

Masako’s head fell forward, John dropped her hand to catch her before she hit the table, and Oliver stopped pacing.

“She’s found something.” Lin whispered next to him.

“Yes. Be ready, just in case.” Oliver whispered back.

The room was thick with the silence as everyone waited to see what awaited them from the other side.

Masako’s head shot back up, the chair sliding backward with the force of it.

“Masako?” John asked.

Masako stood, shakily. Wide eyes scanning the room.

“I did it! Ha ha!” She cried out jumping in place.

Confused glances passed around the table.

“Man, this is weird.” She looked at her fingers and smiled.

“I could do without this thing though.” Masako pulled at her tightly wrapped obi. “Uggh, I mean how does she get comfortable?”

Masako did another small dance as the everyone stared at her, their eyes wide.

“Excuse me?” John asked. “Spirit.”

“Oh, I always wondered…” Masako retracted a hand into the sleeve of her kimono.

“Haha,” She exclaimed her hand reappearing with a small shiny wrapper. “Chocolates. I knew it!”

“Spirit,” Oliver commanded. “You have been summoned here today— “

“Naru wait, I need you to listen.” Masako interrupted a hand on her hip. “We don’t have much time. We have to stop Eloise,” she explained, “She’s not safe, she’s too far gone. Where?”

The familiar dismissive tone left his mouth dry. The gaze of the others turned to him then back to the possessed woman that was making her way across the room.

“Eloise!” Yasu exclaimed. “That was Katashi’s wife’s name.”

“Yes. Katashi that was the husband.” Masako confirmed offhandedly before walking out of the room.

In a rush, the others stood to follow the wandering medium.

 “What do you mean that she is too far gone?” Oliver asked.

“That she’s unstable.” She said dismissively as she led them through the foyer and into the living room.

She wandered the room, stopping once to giggle and wave at her reflection in a small mirror in the corner in the room.

“Where is it? I left it here. I mean I guess they could have moved it.” Masako mumbled to herself exasperation becoming clearer in her voice.

“What are you looking for?” Oliver asked.

Masako’s whirled on Oliver her small finger coming to rest directly between his eyes.

“Where did you put my body Naru?”

_No._

Her grey eyes narrowed accusingly. He knew that look, but it belonged to another face.

“WHAT!” Bou-san and Ayako yelled in unison.

The sound of a car starting drew their attention outside. She ran towards the front stumbling.

By the time the others reached her she had the front door open and was running up to Bou-san’s car.

“Get out!” She screamed slamming her hands against the glass of the window.

_It can’t—_

Mai looked at Masako from inside the car. Her face splitting into a grin as the car slid out from Masako’s grasp and tore out of the driveway.

 “My car!” Bou-san cried out. “That little shit! He told me he hadn’t seen my keys!”

“Get back here! That’s not yours!” Masako yelled running after the car. With a final scream, she came to a stop, stomping her foot against the pavement.

Masako deflated as they approached.

 _Please, no._ His head was ringing.

“No, come back.” She whined. “I messed it up, again.”

Oliver pushed back the uneasiness that told him to hold his tongue.

He closed his eyes, then forced them back open. He had to ask.

“Mai?” He was ashamed of how quiet his own voice was.

“What, Naru?” She asked, wiping her eyes with Masako’s kimono sleeve as she stared at him.

The numbness pressed in; holding down his limbs, squeezing against his throat.   

A gasp rippled through the others.

Mai-Masako stared at him. Grey eyes large and desperate.

“We will get your body back.” He assured her. Unsure as to where the confidence in his voice was coming from.

“How? We don’t know where they went?”

He had no idea, he just knew that they had to.

“Mai!” Ayako yelled grabbing her by the shoulders. “Is that you? What happened?”

“Gene found me in the dream and pulled me out. Except Eloise came too. He, got her to go away and then he tried to send me back. But it didn’t work. I was stuck there.”

“Because Eloise was already occupying your body.” Oliver supplied.

“Yes, but we weren’t sure until I saw her.” Mai-Masako agreed. “Gene thought that perhaps the wires had just gotten crossed. Whatever that means.”

Oliver left the others to crowd around Mai-Masako.

“How did you know?” Lin asked him, stopping him as he passed.

“She knew my name.”

“You figured it out that quickly?”

“I, no, I wasn’t sure until I saw the foot stomp.” His lips curled up, but the smile failed to reach his eyes. “Only Mai would scream at a moving car like that.”

“What do we do now? This isn’t exactly something we have ever had to deal with before.”

“Our priority is to find Mai’s body we have to search for Yuuki and Eloise.” Oliver grimaced. “Call him, tell him Mai was kidnapped. He’ll help.”

Oliver walked back inside and headed for the base.

Picking up his mug he took a heavy swig. The cold tea was bitter and unpalatable. He had left the leaves in too long when he had been in the kitchen. The kitchen!

The bag!

Yuuki had been filling a bag with food in the kitchen.

Oliver threw his mug at the floor, flinching as it shattered.  

He was an idiot. How could he have been such an idiot? Even Yasu had pointed out that something was amiss. The clues were all there. He had just refused to see them.

 “What are we going to do Naru, we’ve got to stop them?” Bou-san asked as the others made their way into the room.

“Lin is calling Hirota as we speak, he will get our information to the Hinohara the police.” Oliver told him.

“And what? That’s it? You can’t be serious. We have to go find them.” Bou-san argued.

“And how do you propose we do that?” Oliver replied, more snappish than he had intended. Taking a deep breath, he added, “why don’t you look though Yuuki’s room try to see if there are any clues as to where they could be going?”

Oliver turned back to the desk. That should occupy them for a while, allowing him some time to think.

If they could find a way to draw Eloise our of Mai’s body and back to the house, then perhaps John could effectively exorcise her now via the rattle. Without her that would only leave Yuuki as a potential threat.

“Naru?”

Oliver’s shoulders fell.

“Naru, I, I wanted to say thank you.”

“Mai, perhaps you should help the others.” He said as he turned to the wrong face.

“Gene told me you sent him after me and Lin had told me the same thing. I just, somehow you always end up having to look after me. Sorry.”

“That is ridiculous.” He dismissed turning back to her.

“Naru, your face what happened?” She reached towards the cut and Oliver stepped back.

“I’m sorry.” She let out a small gasp. “I didn’t cause that did I?”

Oliver looked away again, he couldn’t stand to watch her look at him with that piteous gaze. Not when she had to do it from another face.

“I’m sorry.” She repeated.

“Stop it.” He commanded.

“Being sorry?” She questioned.

“Yes. It’s pointless.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t feel it.” Mai-Masako shot back.

Oliver huffed.

“Naru? When I was on the astral plane, um Gene said…”

Oliver felt a jolt of deja vu. _I thought, Gene said…_

Flashes of Mai pressed against him with wide frightened eyes filled his vision.

His heart began to pound.

In front of him, Mai-Masako was still speaking, but he couldn’t hear her. Had she always been standing so close?

Oliver took a step back only to meet with the desk behind him.

He needed more space, he could still see how Mai had loomed closer and closer.

No, wait…

It hadn’t even been Mai… it had been Eloise.

It had been Eloise who had cornered him, Eloise who had kissed him.

Mai didn’t know.

Did that make it better or worse?

Should he tell her? What if someone else told her? Would she think that he was complicit if she found out later?

He leaned against the desk, legs slack beneath him from the realization.

“Are you ok, Naru?” Mai-Masako asked from the far edge of the desk. 

Oliver pushed his head down to nod. He would have to tell her. But, what if she asked what his reaction had been? He couldn’t tell her. She would hate him. But, what else could he say? If the situation had been different then perhaps he could—

“Do you think you could help then?” She asked.

“Help with what?”

“Like you helped Gene.”

“What?”

“I just said, Gene said that you had helped him find me. Can you do that for my body too?”

“No, it doesn’t work like that I am afraid.”

“Oh. Darn.” She said punching her fist into her palm. “How did you help Gene anyway?”

“I, well I... It is rather complicated you see. Um, emotions—“

“Emotions?” Her face flushed deeply. “Wait can you like see my emotions or something?”

“Well you see, strong emotions have a way of— “

“Oh no.” She hid her face behind her hands.  “This is so embarrassing,”

“Mai, what are you talking about?”

“Why didn’t you tell us you could see emotions?”

“Because, I can’t, Mai that doesn’t even make any sense.”

“But you just said— Whoa. What was that?” Mai-Masako asked bringing her hands to her obi.

“What was what?” Oliver stood, watching Mai-Masako with a keen eye.

“Never mind, I guess it was nothing.” She replied looking around her. “But explain this emotions thing so you don’t — Oh.” She stumbled, catching herself on the desk.

“Mai?”

“I feel really weird Naru, like something’s pull—“ Her eyes rolled back and she crumpled, Oliver caught her enough to ease her descent to the floor.

 “Mai?” He looked over Masako’s prone form searching for any potential injury. Oliver turned his attention to the rest of the room, perhaps they were under some form of paranormal attack, but he found nothing. Crossing the room he checked the hall.

“Naru?” Masako’s quiet voice asked. The intonation was different. The bite gone from his name.

“Masako?” He asked, his voice heavy.

She nodded as she sat up.

 “It was Mai, right? I thought it was. I knew it wasn’t her when I saw her in the hall. I tried to convince the spirit to give her up, but she refused.”

“Can you call her again Masako?”  

“Call her? Call who?”

“Mai.”

“Isn’t she back now?”

“No, Eloise ran off with her body.”

“But Naru, I can’t call her,” Masako explained. “There are no spirits here.”

No spirits? She was gone? 

“We haven’t found anything so far boss.” Yasu said as he and Lin returned to the base. “Sorry, Mai.”

“Actually, I have returned Yasuhara-san.”

“Oh, good to have you back then Masako. Excuse me for asking, but then where did Mai go?”

“We don’t know.” Masako replied. “I thought she would have returned to her body.”

“Noll,” Lin started. “We couldn’t find Mai’s bag. They must have taken it with them.”

“Yeah, Bou-san had mentioned that we should try to find something you could try to get a reading from, but no one had anything.”

Something—

Idiot.

_Idiot._

Oliver reached into his pocket. The metal was warm, he ran his finger tip over the familiar pattern of the teeth.

“I have something.” He told Yasu.

The others perked up.

“You do?”

Oliver held out his hand. His fingers unfurled to reveal the key on his palm.

“What is it?” Yasuhara asked, leaning forward, reaching out to grab it for a better look. Oliver snapped his hand shut.

“It is an object of Mai’s I can use—“

“It is the key to her parent’s home,” Masako interrupted. “I recognize it from when Mai gave it to me when I was trapped during the Urado case.”

Masako looked up at Oliver her eyes wide.

“It is her most prized possession, how did you come to find it?” She asked.

Lin and Yasuhara joined Masako in staring at him.  

“Does that matter right now?” Oliver asked sliding his hand and its treasure back into the safety of his pocket.

“Well, I suppose—“ Masako began.

“Yes.” Lin interrupted.

Yasuhara smirked.

“I found—“ Oliver attempted.

“You’ve had that key for months now.” Lin countered. “I remember seeing you with it in in England.”

Oliver swallowed. When had this become an inquisition?

“Mai gave it to me, before we left.” Oliver answered.

“And you just happened to keep it in your pocket for, like, six months?” Yasuhara asked, a highly disconcerting grin plastered to his face.

“I suppose.” Oliver replied.

The three inquisitors exchanged a look that in no way reduced Oliver’s growing discomfort.

“I don’t see what this has to do with finding Mai.” He added.

“Boss, I think you and I need to continue our discussion from earlier.” Yasu said.

Oliver looked from Masako to Yasu to Lin. Had they all gone mad? What were they talking about? Mai was still lost and very much in danger. What could they be smiling about?

Oliver squeezed his fingers around the key.

Off to his left, far in the distance, he could feel a spot of heat.  It was pugnacious and yet caring.

 “Lin,” Oliver began as he pushed past them. “Have Bou-san and Ayako run through their cleansing rituals while John exorcises the rattle.”

“Noll—“ Lin started, grin gone.

“Yasuhara, grab your keys.” Oliver instructed as he opened the front door. “You’re coming with me to get Mai.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that wasn’t too ramblely for you. Thanks for reading and for sticking with me as my updates to this get progressively slower. I hope to pick up the pace, eventually.  
> 


	14. Chapter 13

## Chapter 13-Mai

 

She was falling. No, something tore at her.

“You have to go back.” A soft voice told her.

Yes, she had to get back, but back was the other way.

She fought against the current. She had to… His eyes, they had looked…

“Mai.” The voice scolded.

She fell, motionless.

She stopped, turbulently.

Her ears popped. Her chest felt like lead, the weight of it preventing her from more than short shallow breaths.

The discordant drumbeats of heavy rain landed above and around her.

Mai pulled her eyes open.

The grey interior of a car dash framing the blurred greens and blacks that made up the view through the windshield. Bright beams of light washed out the center of the dark image.

Where was she? She had just been talking to Naru. No, she had been talking to Gene. No, that wasn’t right. Was it?

With a whir the wipers cleared the image and, for a moment, tall trees loomed above. The streaming rain making quick work of obscuring them once more.

She noticed the bass shaped air freshener hanging from the mirror. This was Bou-san’s car! She looked to her right hoping for long bleached hair, a ridiculous tee-shirt, and a bone crushing hug.

But the seat was empty.

How? What had she been doing? Mai grabbed at her head. It felt as heavy and clouded as the sky around her. Why was she so tired? Her whole body ached.

Her body!

Mai grabbed at the rearview mirror, letting out a small cry of relief as her own familiar features looked back at her. She had made it. She rested back against the car seat with a sigh. She was back.

If this was back, then where had she been trying to go? And, _where_ was she? Where had her body…

The door flew open at her side, rain and wind whipping into her dry haven.

“Time to get up, sleepyhead.” A drenched Yuuki told her as he reached across to turn the car off.

“Yuu-ki?” Mai asked, dumbfounded.

Yuuki turned to her, eyes blinking as beads of rain fell into his eyes from his hair.

“Good morning! Well, evening technically, but that doesn’t matter.” He smiled, and gave her a quick kiss her before Mai could reply.

Mai’s eyes went wide. But then he was unbuckling her seatbelt and backing out of the car. The cool rain pattering in through the doorway and against her flushed face.

His hand came back in and he said something to her. Her head churned the phase over slowly. Something about speed, a train?

He took her arm and pulled her out of the car and into the cold shower.

“Did you hear me? I said we have to hurry if we are going to catch the train.”

“Why, not the car?” Mai felt the sentence fall out sloppily.

“They could track it.”

Mai stared back.

“They?”

“I know none of this makes sense.” Yuuki reassured her. “Just trust me, ok? I’ll take care of you. Just like I promised.”

He grinned, his eyes shining in the dim light. Mai felt inclined to believe him. She could feel herself begin to smile back. But, what promise?

He held his hand out for hers.  Mai watched the rain slide down his fingertips. The precipitation was slowing now. The drips taking the time to pool and grow larger before they fell. Something was wrong here.

She needed time to think. How had she gotten here? There was, something had pulled on her. She couldn’t remember. But she shouldn’t stay, she had to go back. How was she supposed to think of a way out if she wasn’t even sure how she had gotten here?

 “Eloise, it will be ok.” Yuuki reassured her.

Eloise? Mai grabbed at her damp and heavy head. Eloise was here? Mai could see her own face smirking up at her from a car window. Eloise, had stolen…

She looked back at Yuuki. Eloise had been with Yuuki? Had she tricked him? Threated him?

“Just like we planned. We’re going to get out of here.”

They had planned to escape together all along? Did that mean he knew Eloise was going to steal her body? That he was OK, with it?

“Eloise, are you alright?” He placed a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. He flinched slightly, the smile falling from his face.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have much time.”

If she ran, where could she go? There was a set of stone steps behind Yuuki that looked like they lead to a shrine of some sort.  But that was likely to be a dead end.

On the other hand, if she followed Yuuki to the train station maybe she could get someone to help her. Maybe, there would be a police station nearby? Some sign of civilization.

Mai lifted her hand towards his waiting palm, then hesitated.

“Where is it?” She asked.

“What?” Yuuki asked.

“The train station?”

“We are going to take a bus to the train station.”

“A bus?”

“Yes, we have to hurry. Come on.”  He told her losing patience and grabbing her hand.

Mai pulled at his grip on reflex.

Yuuki stared at her.

_Idiot!_ Mai admonished herself.

“Eloise?” He squinted at her, his grip tightening with his gaze.

Mai squirmed. She didn’t want to lie. It was wrong. It was unfair. Maybe if she just told him the truth he would let her go? He didn’t want Mai, he wanted Eloise. This was Yuuki. He was so quiet and sweet. They could talk it out. Whatever they had been planning it, had to be Eloise’s idea. This poor guy had just gotten—

“Eloise?” Yuuki’s voice rose higher, panic creeping in along the edges.

“Yuuki,” Mai began, she was determined to let him down as gently as possible. “I’m not—“

“No,” Yuuki interrupted her grabbing her by the shoulders and staring into her eyes. Searching for something, someone, he wouldn’t find.

Mai brought her own hands to his shoulders.

“I’m sorry, Yuuki.”

“No we, we waited. We found a fit. Eloise! Eloise come back.” Yuuki gave her a small shake.

“She’s not here Yuuki.” Mai was pretty sure that was true. As least, it didn’t seem like anyone else was in her head. Though would she be able to tell if there was or not?

“Where is she? She has to be here. Bring her back, right now.”  His voice grew faster, more frantic with each word.

“I can’t.” Mai told him.

“You won’t,” Yuuki screamed and Mai found herself flung sideways. She crashed into the side of the parked car, her head ringing as she fell to the ground with a splash.

“Bring her back!” Yuuki demanded from behind her.

Mai grabbed at the car, attempting to pull herself back up. But her hands slipped and she was on the ground again.

She was spun onto her back. Yuuki crouched over her, covering her mouth and nose with his hand. How could this be the same boy she had met just a few days ago?

“Go to sleep and bring her back.”

Mai struggled to focus, spots still in her vision. Yuuki had made her hot chocolate when she had been upset; he had blushed furiously when she had asked to read his story.

“Go to sleep,” he repeated over and over pressing more with each word. Mai pulled at his hands, kicking her legs futilely. Small streams of water slipped down his arm and though the cracks in his fingers, preventing air from making its way to her.

She had watched his face light up as he had blown raspberries on Akemi’s belly.

Now his eyes were wild and his breathing was ragged.

Mai felt her own lungs burning, water creeping up her nostrils. The thick twilight dimmed the trees growing taller and gloomier all around her.

Harsh light sliced through the darkness turning in their direction. Mai watched as fear replaced the manic anger on Yuuki’s features. His hands relaxed, the suffocating streams slipping down her face. Mai took deep breaths, coughing hard on the air and water mix that made it to her starved lungs.

She looked up, craning to see the source of her salvation. A second car had pulled up, its headlights fixed on them. Someone stood between them and the car, washed out by the light.

“Mai!” The new comer called out.

Yuuki kept his eyes on the figure, squinting against the light. But when he spoke it was quieter and Mai was sure he was still talking to her.

“Just bring her back, please.”

“I’m sorry,” She murmured. And with as deep of a breath as she could she pushed at Yuuki. Her heavy limbs gained little ground. But he was taken back enough to teeter from his place above her.

Mai hurried to her feet, but Yuuki recovered and grabbed hold of her arm before she could take more than a step away.

The light shifted as the figure advanced on them, finally dimming enough to show Yasuhara just out of arms reach. Mai ignored the mutinous disappointment that prickled at the edge of her heart. She knew better than to have expected it to be Naru. But she had thought, because his eyes…

Yuuki scrambled backwards pulling at Mai as if to use her as a shield.

“Stay back!” He yelled a pocket knife appearing in his free hand. To Mai he added, “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I promised I would take care of her. Please.”

“Oshiro-san, let Mai go and we can talk.” Yasuhara said.

“It could be temporary,” Yuuki told her. “Until we found someone else.”

Mai stared at the blade of the knife. Her heart was pounding, but so long as it was pointed at Yasuhara and not her maybe she could still talk to the kind boy whose company she had found such solace in the last few days.

“But that’s still wrong, Yuuki. You’re stealing someone else’s body.”

“Oshiro-san,” Yasuhara started again.

“It could be someone no one would miss.” Yuuki told her.

“Don’t say that.”

“She can’t, I love her. We are going to be together. We promised.” Yuuki squeezed his arm around Mai.

So, that was it. Mai’s heart sent sharp shockwaves across her chest. That familiar hollowness sinking into her bones. The helplessness, the misery of realizing you were reaching for something utterly unattainable, it all came back.

“Oh Yuuki,” she wrapped her own arms around his.

He jumped slightly at the tender contact.

“I’m so sorry.” She whispered.

His grip loosened and Mai turned to wrap her arms around him burying her head in his chest. They stood there for a moment, unmoving save for the shutters that periodically rippled across Mai’s shoulders. 

His own paralysis fading, Yuuki brought Mai’s face up to look at him. Red, glassy eyes meeting one another.

“You’re crying,” he told her, confusion clear in his voice.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t… I understand now.”

“You will help me?” Yuuki asked holding her back and watching her with hopeful eyes.

“Yes.” Mai smiled sadly up at him.

 “You’ll bring her back?”

“Mai.” Yasuhara interjected from behind.

Mai waved a dismissive hand in his direction. She could only hope that he trusted her enough not to make any rash decisions.

 

“I...” she lost her voice. It didn’t want to come out. If she said it, it would be true. And if it was true for Eloise, then it was true for… “I, can’t. You can’t bring her back.”

“You’re lying.” He pushed at her with his empty hand. Not enough to send her reeling, but she had to take a step back to keep her balance. “If you really understood, you’d help me.”

“I _am_ helping you Yuuki,” Mai’s head swiveled side to side, tears curving as they made their way down her face. “She’s gone.”

“No.”

“She was never really there.”

“That’s not true! We’ve talked. She _wanted_ to listen to me. She wasn’t like everyone else.”

“But Yuuki, she,” Mai stumbled again, “she was dead.”

“But that’s what makes it so amazing.” Yuuki’s face lit up. “We found each other even though we shouldn’t have been able to. We have something special, something more powerful than time or nature.”

“She has to move on,” Mai continued, her fortitude growing. “And so, so do you.”

“You don’t understand. We’re special! She _has_ to come back.” He said holding the knife to point at Mai. “Bring her back, now.”

“No.” Mai shot back, her fingers balling into fists.

“What did you say?”

“I said, no!” Mai forgot the knife, she forgot the tragedy and she shoved him. She shoved him hard.

“And why should you get to keep her?” She screamed. Her shoulders were tense and her own breathing was speeding up. “What makes you so special?”

Yuuki’s eyes were wide as he stared at her.

“She’s—“

“She’s gone.” She shoved him again.  “They were gone before we ever met them.”

Yuuki opened his mouth.

“No, it's not fair,” she cut him off. “It's terrible. I hate it!” She added with a stomp.

"But that didn't change the fact that he's dead, that we couldn't..." Mai slammed her hand against the pain in her chest that wanted to stop her. "So tell me, why should she be any different? Huh? Why do you get to be happy?"

Mai froze with the realization of what she was saying. She had gotten over this. It had been a crush. It had just…

Yuuki stared at her the confusion on his face highlighted by the bright glow of the headlights. The dark backdrop surrounding them left him small and—

Her stomach sank.

Oh, no.

The rage was gone, guilt rushing to take its place, as her eyes fell on another figure lurking in the darkness behind Yuuki.

How long had he been back there?

Naru took another careful step towards them. His dark clothes blending with the growing night.

Her chest ached to think that he had just heard her. But it hurt more when she couldn’t see any sort of reaction.

The anger came back, washing over her. But Mai wasn’t sure who she was angry at anymore. The world, and the unfairness of it. Yuuki, and his stubborn refusal to accept the truths she had already learned. Naru, and his stupid stoicism. Herself, and her ridiculous hope that maybe this time things would have been different.

Mai wanted to charge Yuuki, barrel right though him until she took out the second target creeping up behind him. They were both ruining, everything. She was nearly ready to spring when Yuuki noticed Mai’s gaze and spun to see Naru only a few paces away.

“Hey!” He yelled, brandishing the knife wildly as he attempted to cover himself from three sides.  

“Mai, come over here.” Yasuhara called out from Mai’s right. But she was still looking at Naru. Desperately quelling the rage that wanted Yuuki to lunge at him.

She had to think about something else. Something other than strangling Naru.

She watched as he reached out running his hand against the branches.

What was he doing?

A cascade of droplets shimmering as they fell from the disturbed leaves and onto his waiting palm.

The bandages were gone from his hand. It was an odd thing to notice. But with the thought she felt her anger start to leech away.

It was then that Mai realized it had stopped raining. When had that happened?

But more importantly, why had Naru wanted to get even wetter?

Something hummed in the back of her mind. The hairs on her arms standing up. A faint prickling sensation running the length of her body.

Mai’s instincts screamed. Something bad was about to happen.

Was he going to attack? What was he going to…

_The stun gun._

It could knock Yuuki out, it worked on the Sasakuras. He could end this. But at what cost?

Last time, Naru had had Gene there to help him. Last time, he hadn’t looked ready to fall over from sheer exhaustion.

Naru held his wet arm out from his body, his shoulders drawing back.

Mai gasped.

He couldn’t handle it. She could feel it in the pit of her gut. And what was worse, something told her that he knew as well.

“No, Naru don’t,” Mai cried out, but he was already running towards them.

His arm came up and struck flat against Yuuki’s shoulder. Yuuki swung the knife towards Naru, but his fingers jumped open the weapon falling from stiff digits.

Mai was there, wrapping her fingers around Naru’s arm. Desperate to stop what she feared she was already too late to undo.

For an instant, it tingled, but then the burning came. White hot pain searing up her arm and moving inward. It was growing, it wanted to consume her. She pushed against it. Recoiling and lashing back at the pain. Anything to make it go away.

Naru let out a small grunt. Mai’s eyes met with his wide blue ones for just a second before they rolled back.

Naru!

His legs crumpled beneath him and he joined Yuuki on the pavement in front of her.

“Mai, what happened?” Yasuhara asked running over and crouching between the unconscious men.

What had she done?

Mai stared at the steam that was still coiling up from burning fingers. What had she…

“Mai?” Yasuhara repeated. “Mai, you with me?

The pain was retreating, but the sense of wrong was not. It slithered, oily over her skin and rested its weight across her shoulders. Had she? Was he?

“Shit,” Yasuhara mumbled standing and taking Mai by the shoulders. “Mai, are you ok?”

“Don’t touch me.” She pushed Yasuhara back. The pain in her right-hand flaring with the contact. “I don’t… it was so hot… I just wanted it to go away. I didn’t mean to. Are they…?”

“They are unconscious, but alive. But if we want them to stay that way I have to get help. Can you stay here and watch over them?”

Mai nodded. Even though she wasn’t sure if that was true or not. Yasuhara grabbed Yuuki’s fallen knife from the ground and held out the hilt.

“Here, just in case.” He offered.

“I can’t,” Mai told him, recoiling from the blade.

“You sure?” Yasuhara looked back at the unconscious Yuuki. He tried offering the knife once more.

Mai didn’t answer she was looking down at her, aftermath. This was her fault. Regret settled sharply into numbed flesh. He was gone.

Now, they were both gone.

“Fine,” Yasuhara grumbled and threw the knife into the woods. “I’m going to be right back.”

“Yasu,” Mai reached for him as he walked by, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the ground.

Yasuhara took her hand in his own. She could feel his thumb run across the back of her hand.

“Look,” He said then led her to kneel besides Naru. He pressed Mai’s palm against Naru’s chest. “Can you feel it?”

Mai’s brows scrunched in confusion. Then, she felt it. Her hand, was rising and falling with the slow flow of his breath.

“He’s alive, Mai,” Yasuhara told her. “And you are going to keep him that way, right?”

Mai stared at Naru. He was alive. He was breathing.

“Mai?”

Mai nodded, her fingers gripping at the cool wet cloth beneath them.

She _was_ going to keep him alive.

She looked at Naru’s slack face. Her fingers moved to the closures above his eye pressing down on an end that had popped off.  It refused to stick against his wet skin and lifted with her finger each time she let the pressure go. Mai found her fingers lingering. Her thumb taking up the bandage call as the other digits slid into his damp hair.

“What happened? Naru, what did I do?” She stared, waiting for an answer she knew wasn’t coming.

It was all her fault. He had tried to help her, again. And where had that gotten him?

“I’m sorry.” She ran her hand through his hair once more.  

“And this time you can’t tell me not to be.” She attempted a laugh, but the sound was hollow and felt more like the beginnings of a sob.

Her hand moved back to his face. His beautiful, dumb, face. What if this was the last time she saw it?

Mai shivered. Remnants of the passing storm’s wind chilling her wet clothes as they stuck to her.

It was getting colder.

She flattened her palm against his cheek.

Naru, was getting colder.

“Naru?” She brought her hand back to his chest. “Naru!”

She waited, was it moving? She couldn’t tell. She couldn’t feel it anymore. Why had she move her hand?

“No,” she demanded. “No, you don’t get to go.”

Her eyes burned as she pressed down harder, searching for that telltale movement. Her hand ached, the heat from her burns prickling up her arm. Her stinging eyes left Naru blurring, blending into the dark. He was fading away, slipping through her fingers once again.  

“Stop leaving me,” she grabbed his shirt and shook. He was heavy and cold. Resistant to her touch even now.

She fell forward with a moan. A familiar pain leaving her shoulders shaking.

_Everyone, always leaves._

Her hands wrenched at the cloth. It wasn’t fair. 

“Not you too,” she whispered, “not again. I can’t…”

Tears scorched down her face, hot streams running between stinging fingers.

“Please,” she begged, “please, live.”

Thus, began her mantra.

The night stretched on, the chill deepening.  

“Please,” she chanted.

Yuuki stirred, a groan escaping his lips.

“Please.”

The bright lights and blaring sirens of emergency vehicles surrounded them.

“Please,” she urged.

“Are you hurt?” A voice asked reaching at her shoulder. She brushed it away.

“Please.”

“Mai, come with me.” Yasuhara told her as he pulled her back from Naru’s chest. A blast of crisp wind wiping away the warmth with the last of her chant.

Off to the right she saw police officers leading Yuuki to a car. Their eyes met for a second and Mai recognized the pain that leaked from his. He finally understood the truth. Her heart went out to him. He ducked into the door and it slammed with a hollow thud. Maybe she should talk to him.

“Hey, can you hear me?”

Mai’s head whipped back around. The paramedics had swarmed around Naru. His skin flashing pink in the intersecting emergency lights.

 

“Damn, he’s burning up.” The paramedic said to her partner. “Lets him up and get an IV going.”

“What are they doing?” Mai asked Yasuhara as the paramedics lifted Naru onto the gurney and proceeded to cut open his shirt.

“They are helping him, Mai.”

Mai felt her skin crawl as their hands ran all over Naru. Poking and prodding as they gleaned answers from his flesh.

They were ruining his clothes. And why wouldn’t they stop touching him?

“Stop that.” Mai called out, tugging against Yasuhara’s grip.

But they ignored her, continuing to callout information to one another. She could see the burn on his arm as they cut away at the sleeve. Her own fingers throbbing in sympathy.

“Don’t touch him.” Mai’s voice grew as she took a step.

“Mai,” Yasuhara soothed, but tightened his grip.

“He doesn’t like to be touched.”

One of the paramedics gave her half a glance as they started pushing Naru into the ambulance.

“Mai, they have to touch him. It’s their job. It’s OK.”

“No, it’s not.” Mai started forward once more only to have Yasuhara’s arms wrap all the way around her.

“Mai, let them work.” Yasuhara told her with a squeeze.

"But they don’t know. He’ll be so angry.” Mai explained as the ambulance began to pull away.

Yasu leaned closer to her ear, his voice overlapping the wail of the siren.

“But, he will be alive.”

 “This ambulance is turning left. Please note.” Announced the synthetic voice of the ambulance as it pulled from the parking lot.

Mai leaned into Yasuhara her arms pulling his closer. She was getting so tired now. She just wanted to sleep. Maybe if she slept she would wake up and none of this would be real.

Crimson flashes dimed with each slice through the thick trees, the high-low of the siren fading into the distance.

“You’re really hot, Mai.”

Mai gave Yasuhara what she hoped was a decent approximation of an indigent stare but her draining energy left her with little faculty over her face.

“Not now, Yasu—“

“No, I mean, temperature wise. Are you feeling, alright?”

“I’m tired.” She said, sagging against him, her eyelids drooping.

“Mai? Whoa, Mai.” Yasuhara made hasty work to keep her from sliding to the floor. “I think we need to make our own trip to the hospital.”

Mai replied that she just needed to sleep. But she wasn’t sure if she remembered to move her mouth.

“OK, we’re going.”

It was too much effort to decide if she didn’t want to or simply couldn’t argue. Instead, Mai focused on the fuzzy warmth that was buzzing in her chest and filling her head. And soon there was nothing else.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Tiffo here.
> 
> Sorry for the ever continuing delays to these chapters. And the brevity of the chapter itself.
> 
> I have some news of mixed feelings (at least for myself). If you haven't heard yet, we are rapidly approaching the end of Kaleidoscope Heart. I expect there to be one more chapter and then and Epilogue.
> 
> I have what I thought would be the next arc(and possibly final) for this story, but as I worked on wrapping this case up I realized that this was actually where *this* story needed to end.
> 
> That doesn't mean the narrative of Naru and Mai and everyone else is over. Oh no I want to get to that arc (and probably flesh it out alot more). But now it will be presented to you all as sequal instead of within this story. More on this in the final chapters.
> 
> I also finally got around to making a proper cover image for this story so thanks to all of you who helped me out by voting for that.
> 
> And last, but never ever least, I want to thank you guys for being my readers. I will leave the real gushing for the later chapters. But I can't not mention it here. With this chapter this story is only a few hundred words short of the first Harry Potter and I never would have made it this far without you guys encouraging me.
> 
> OK, save that energy for the end.  
> Till next chapter.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

* * *

_The beeping woke her. She was cold and stiff and the steady blip of whatever was making that sound echoed in her head._

_Where was she?_

_With too much effort she pulled her eyes open. Her head ached, the dark room shifting as it came into focus._

_She turned her head, slowly, her neck protesting the effort and scanned what she now recognized as a hospital room._

_Her skin crawled at the realization. She was not a fan of hospitals. They had too many unpleasant memories._

_How had she gotten here?_

" _Oh, you're awake."_

_She turned back towards the door, the flash of pain jolting down her spine causing her to instantly regret it._

" _Where?" Her voice sounded strange in her own ears._

" _You're in an emergency hospital, you were in an accident."_

_Accident?_

" _Do you remember your name?"_

" _My name is... Mai…Taniyama"_

" _Very good."_

" _Do you know what day it is?"_

_She thought for a moment._

" _No, uh, Sunday?"_

" _Close, it's Monday."_

" _Oh," she thought for a moment, trying to piece back the missing time. "What kind of accident?"_

" _The car you were in went off the road."_

_She squinted her eyes closed. She had been in a car. It had been raining. There had been a noise. A terrible noise._

" _Am I, okay?"_

" _How do you feel?"_

" _Achy."_

_The nurse smiled._

" _I think that is to be expected. But all told you were very lucky. You didn't break anything. A bit of a concussion, but the swelling of your brain was not too severe."_

_The swelling? Her head throbbed in response._

_The dark trees had been so close. Cold water dripped onto her face through the shattered windshield. She had looked across the car, but the world had slid away from her._

" _The doctors will keep you for a few days for observation, but you seem to be recovering. Is there anyone I can call?"_

_She tried to think._

" _My…Mother?" she wasn't sure, but that felt like it should be a question._

_The nurse blanched slightly._

" _Taniyama-san," the nurse began._

_They had been going on a day trip. Her mother had demanded that they take advantage of this small break and head out for the day._

" _My Mother?" she asked again, her voice sharper._

_They had visited some shrines, had a nice dinner out._

_The blips drew closer together._

" _She was driving us home."_

" _I'm so sorry Taniyama-san."_

_What?_

" _She had lost too much blood."_

_No._

" _She was already in shock by the time the paramedics had arrived," the nurse reached for her hand, but she pulled it back._

_No._

" _She's gone."_

" _No."_

_She couldn't go._

" _I'm so sorry," the nurse repeated._

_The sob burst out before she could stop it. Hard and wet, it tore all the air from her lungs._

_She left me._

_The world seemed to shake._

_She left me._

_She bit her lip to keep the whimpers from growing too loud. Blurrily she watched as the light blue of the hospital blanket clutched in her curled fists collected a pattern of darker spots._

" _Can I call someone for you?" the nurse asked again._

_Mai shook her head, she was alone now._

"— up, Noll."

The beeping of the monitor was sounding at a vigorous pace.

He was hot, so very hot.

Lin stood over him, his hand still gripping his shoulder.

Oliver sat up, his heart pounding, breaths shallow. The pain from the dream leaching into his waking body.

The heat fell back, it's suffocating hold around his upper body fading. He tried to steady his breathing. Keep the room from spinning and the bile in his stomach. The dream was proving difficult to shake off this time. The damp of his own sweat moving him from hot to cold in the circulating air.

He groaned. His head was fuzzy and his whole body continued to tingle with a frantic energy that was exhilarating and exhausting. The heat, it was coming back now. He could feel it radiate off him in uncomfortable waves that made his limbs refuse to respond.

"Noll," Lin said drawing out the short nickname with concern.

He stared down at his palm as it rested empty on the white-grey blanket in his lap, too heavy to lift. His arm was wrapped in white gauze up to the elbow.

Every inch of him prickled and burned. There was so much power. More than he had held in such a long time. It was amazing, and terrifying.

Oliver brought his hands up, flexing stiff fingers.

"Noll, what are you doing?" Lin's whisper pulled his attention to the rest of the room.

The room stood still, the entirety of its contents hovering in midair around them.

Oliver watched as the suspended detritus of the room shifted, moving slightly towards and away from him with the movement of his hand. It had been so long since he had been able to get even close to this level of control. Of manipulation.

What was happening?

Oliver took a deep breath and let it go. But the energy didn't dissipate, it barely wavered.

It was always a battle, the power. Something that had to be controlled. Resisted. But this, this just _was_.

It held him here. Excess energy simply waiting to be used.

Lin's eye darted from one object to the next.

"What happened after I left?" Oliver asked.

"What?"

"At the home. Did Eloise make an appearance?"

"Yes, almost as soon as you left. But that doesn't matter. Noll, you need to try to calm down. Before you hurt yourself even more."

"So quickly," Oliver considered this new information, "could she have been forced back? Mai had complained of a pulling sensation before she…"

The chair near Lin slid back to the ground, bumping into the back of his leg as it descended.

"Were John and Bou-san able to exorcise her?"

"Noll, I think you should—" Lin watched the chair near the window come to rest.

"They were successful?"

"Yes, Masako said that she could feel her go. And the activity has ceased so far."

"I wonder if the forced relocation left her in a weakened state, that coupled with the use of the rattle… How strong was the presence when it returned?"

"The second attack was vastly diminished." Lin reached out to help steady the decent of Oliver's heart monitor.

Oliver nodded, it followed that would be the case.

"What else?" Oliver asked.

"Masako asked to see the well, once there, she said there were a few other small low-level spirits that she could feel in the area. She said they felt to be from the same time as Eloise. I have to assume it was the location of the previous home. Are you, okay?"

"You took care of that, I assume."

"Ayako used some of the trees near the well to cleanse that area as well."

Lin watched the plastic water pitcher teeter as it came to rest on the newly grounded bedside table.

"Very good. I think we can inform Oshiro-san of our progress at this point. We should be done there."

"What was that?" Lin straightened from reaching to the floor and placed a green and tan ceramic vase with a plastic plant back on the window sill.

"I said I think we are done there."

"This, Noll," Lin's voice was heavy, "what was all of this?"

Oliver didn't reply.

"When you poltergeist, everything is moving. It's chaotic. So, what was this?"

"I don't know, I will have to look into it."

"How do you feel?"

"Fine."

Lin eyed him suspiciously.

"Really, it's as if I just had the energy to burn. I feel better now, I do, save for my arm which itches an inordinate amount."

Lin seemed unconvinced. 

"How did you explain my condition to the doctors this time?"

"Yasuhara told them you got tased."

"What?" Oliver asked, tugging at the uncomfortable gauze circling his arm.

"He said you had used a taser to stop Yuuki and that it must have malfunctioned and injured you as well. He tried to emphasize how wet everything was."

"But there was no taser?" Oliver asked, he didn't think any of them had a taser. Unless it had been Yuuki's?

"I have to assume that you, were the taser. But Yasuhara told them he threw it into the woods for safety's sake. They seemed to accept it when I spoke with them."

"When was that? What time is it? How long have I been here?" Oliver scratched at his arm. The attention caused it to tingle more, the heat intensifying and spreading.

"About ten hours ago. It is," Lin checked his watch, "roughly half past six in the morning.

"Ten hours," Oliver repeated bringing a hand to his aching head, "and everything else? The anemia, the blo—."

"Normal."

"Normal?" Oliver stopped poking at the gauze and looked back at Lin, he must have heard wrong.

"Your red blood cell count was a little low but nothing like we have seen in the past. They want to do a stress test on your heart, to make sure everything is fine, but the tests they did run all came out fine, considering. Noll, I don't think they want you messing with that."

Oliver had taken to unwinding the dressings on his arm.

"It is hot. Was that all?"

Lin seemed to struggle with what to say for a moment then continued.

"They think you may have gotten a mild concussion when you fell. And the fever could have been any number of things; a virus you were already developing, an autoimmune reaction to one of the traumas, or…"

Lin smiled.

"What?"

"Or it was just stress."

"Well, that is ridiculous," Oliver said leaning back against the bed. His arm burned and itched, but the cool air was helping.

"It's because of the transference, isn't it?" Lin asked.

"What?" Could Mai have done something? Oliver squeezed his eyes shut, what had happened? It felt like he could almost remember.

"Your arm," Lin explained nodding at Oliver's unwrapped appendage.

Oliver held up his arm, the skin ranged from red to pink. But despite the swell and the overall irritation he could see it. Four bands of blister running around his arm to a larger patch.

"Yasuhara told me she was involved, that she had grabbed you and then you fell. What happened, Noll?"

"I don't, I can't remember."

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"I left the house with Yasuhara, we were in the car looking for Mai, he was asking me questions."

_The key, does it let you see Mai?_

"What kind of questions?"

Oliver shook his head.

_Why did you keep it? Do you even know?_

"Yasuhara told me you knocked Yuuki out."

He had knocked Yuuki out?

He tried to remember what had happened after they had arrived, after the car.

"I got out of the car, I was going to come through the woods from the back while Yasuhara drove in the front."

It had been dark in the trees, he remembered thinking that he was moving faster than he should have through the slick underbrush. He had tripped, more than once, but he had to keep going.

"There was a clearing ahead, a parking lot."

He could see Mai, she and Yuuki were ahead of him. Yuuki had Mai pressed against him.

_Naru, you know what that was, don't you?_

They stood so close their silhouettes merged in the bright light of the headlights.

There was a glint in Yuuki's hand.

"He had a knife."

"Who?"

Oliver could feel himself relax. He had forgotten this. Lin walking him through a memory. In the past, it had always been someone else's but it still felt familiar. Kept his heart from racing as he sifted through the broken pieces of what this time was his own mind.

"Yuuki, he had it pointed at Mai, but then she, she…"

"What?"

"She hugged him."

"What?"

"Then she pushed him."

"She hugged him and then pushed him? How does your head feel?"

"She did."

"Okay, why?"

"She was… angry."

"Angry?"

The anger had rolled off her, slapping him in the face like a burst of hot air from a furnace. But it wasn't just anger, it hurt.

_You honestly don't get it, do you?_

"She pushed him again, she was yelling."

"What was she yelling about?"

Oliver brought a hand to his chest as it began to ache.

"Gene."

"Gene?"

"I had to stop…if anything happened…"

It had been so clear in that moment, he had _known_ , what? It had taken over his limbs, pulled at that sharp energy. Demanded action. He couldn't stop it.

_Naru, listen, there's a word for that reason._

Yuuki had gone down. Oliver had seen his eyes roll back, heard the clatter of the knife. He was done. She was safe.

But then it was coming back, the heat and the electricity. She was so angry. He had only wanted her safe.

Oliver brought his hand to his head, it all felt so jumbled, the heat was making him dizzy.

"Okay, we can talk about it some more later. Do you want me to call a nurse?"

Oliver shook his head, hoping to dispel both Lin's concern and the fog that seemed to have made a home in his mind.

"Maybe try to get some more sleep."

He nodded, maybe sleep would help.

* * *

Oliver took a sip of the lukewarm, too strong, monstrosity that had been provided when he had requested a cup of tea.

He put the paper cup back on the far side of the tray, past the uneaten fodder they had expected him to consume, and picked up his notebook.

Lin's stare burned into him from across the room, but he ignored it. Lin had been watching him, even more so than usual since the commotion this morning. But it wasn't as if Lin was going to force feed him, so they were at an impasse when it came to the food.

He was flipping towards the notes on the most recent case when he stopped, looking over a page listing recent evidence he had gathered on him and Mai's transference as well as a few of his thoughts on the occurrences. He crossed out a section, rewriting the removed portion in the side margin. Most of the notes were in at least their second if not third or fourth iteration on the page.

The notes reminded him to check the time. It was almost noon and knowing Mai she could show up at any time, barging in to check on him and demanding he take better care of himself. The upside was he might be able to ask her to replace the swill he was currently stuck with. In fact, this close to noon, it was somewhat surprising that she hadn't arrived already.

Oliver wondered if he should attempt to get dressed first. Mai was likely to bring the entire SPR team with her and it would be much better to have to greet everyone in his pajamas than a paper thin hospital gown. He hadn't bothered yet as the wrapping on his arm were sure to make any shirt uncomfortable to attempt.

Maybe he would ask Lin for his bag once he was done reading this over. He glanced up at Lin whom he once again caught staring in his direction then quickly looking away. It was beginning to be uncomfortable. Did Lin have something he wanted to say? While quiet, Lin never seemed to have had a problem conversing with him in the past.

Lin's chin slid from his hand, and he jumped in his seat, this laptop sliding precariously towards the edge of his legs. He shot Oliver a quick glare, daring him to comment.

Oliver decided he could ask for his bag later and turned to his notes on the case. Shifting the blankets across his legs he settled in to re-read them.

The hum of machinery and quiet flipping of pages settled like a haze around them.

Looking up to ask a question Oliver could see Lin's chin drooped on his chest.

"Lin," Oliver spoke softly conflicted on whether he should wake the other man.

Lin started upwards, the laptop catching air before tumbling towards the ground. Lin's hands stopping it just before it hit.

"There is a pull-out bed if you wish to sleep."

"I don't need to sleep."

Oliver did not believe that for a second.

"Besides, it's too small," Lin grumbled.

"You could return to the house. I can have the nurses contact you when I am re—"

"No."

"I don't need a babysitter."

"No."

"Do what you want," Oliver grumbled, Lin was too stubborn for his own good sometimes. He turned back to his notes when he remembered his original question.

"Lin, how soon after Yasuhara and I left did you say the manifestation began? Two minutes? Three? I don't see it in the notes."

"The first signs presented themselves within a minute of your departure."

Oliver nodded and added the information to the margin of the notebook suppressing a hiss as the reapplied dressings on his arm scraped against the edge of the book.

The quiet began to settle around them once more.

"Hey boss, you're awake," Yasuhara said walking into the room without knocking. "That's great! How do you feel?

"Fine," Oliver replied.

"Fantastic, look who I found wandering the halls."

Oliver sat up straighter, his notebook snapping shut.

Yasuhara stepped to the side to reveal Hirota hovering in the doorway behind him.

Oliver caught the groan before it escaped his lips.

"Shibuya-kun, Lin-san," Hirota greeted them with a small bow.

"Hirota-san, what are you doing here?" Oliver asked.

"I was at the Hinohara station to see if things were going well and I thought I would check on—"

"Has Oshiro-kun given a statement yet?"

Hirota worked his mouth for a moment, the muscles of his jaw visibly straining as he held it shut.

"We should have everything cleared away on our end, but a copy of his statement may prove useful for us. If you could give it to Lin," Oliver told him, turning back to his notes.

"I don't have the statement on me," Hirota countered.

"Unsurprising."

"And even if I did, that statement is police business."

"I find it hard to believe that the police will be able to make much sense of it."

"Oshiro-kun has confessed to stealing Takigawa-san's car and drugging Taniyama-san, the case will not be difficult."

"Drugging?" Oliver looked back up from his notes. "He was drugging her?"

"You didn't know?" Hirota's back straightened his chin lifting so he looked down his nose at Oliver.

If he didn't know better Oliver would have said he was preening.

"Oshiro-kun said that he had placed dosages of," Hirota pulled out a notepad, "Zopiclone, into the drinks he had provided her in an effort to get her to fall asleep. So that his dead girlfriend could possess her," Hirota finished with a disgruntled mumble.

"Obviously," Hirota added, "that was some sort of delusion on his part. But the fact remains that he confessed to two actual crimes so he can't claim some sort of spiritual defense for those actions. The rest can be attributed to his infatuation with," he looked at his notes once more, "gothic horror. It sounds like he was a lonely kid with an overactive imagination."

"For there could surely be no other explanation," Oliver said.

"Nothing plausible. Though I'm sure you would love to claim otherwise."

Oliver just stared back. There was no point in getting into this same argument once again.

"Speaking of crimes, you're lucky I didn't decide to charge you with reckless endangerment."

"Is that your new charge for me? I didn't think you would be so stubborn and dimwitted as to attempt to charge me for a yet another baseless crime," Oliver challenged. He wasn't sure why Hirota had suddenly decided that he wanted to start an argument that he was bound to lose.

"Baseless! You _are_ reckless, look even you're in the hospital. If I could I would have you declared unfit to lead and have your whole charlatan organization disbanded. I should have done it last time."

Hirota had gotten so bold as to hold an accusatory finger in his direction. If he wasn't so annoying, Oliver would have been impressed with the amount of backbone the investigator had managed to muster up.

Lin loomed in the background behind Hirota, he hadn't approached yet, but Oliver could see him ready to step in.

"Once again, my team has successfully managed to neutralize a negative paranormal influence and improve the quality of life for our client. And while I admit that I found myself at a personal disadvantage I fail to see how that should reflect poorly on the work completed by my staff."

"What about the danger?"

"What danger, the threat from the spirits you claim cannot possibly exist?"

Hirota grumbled under his breath for a moment fingers opening and closing around his notebook.

"You let an employee be kidnapped."

Oliver's opened his mouth, but he was unable to form a counter.

"We made efforts to relocate her as soon as we discovered she was missing," Lin said.

"Yeah," Yasuhara added, "And Naru and I were the ones who found them, not the police. They wouldn't even have known where to look if I hadn't called."

"You put a subordinate at undue risk." Hirota continued staring at Oliver. "It said you had a taser in the notes. I'm not sure how you did it but you used that stun gun of yours didn't you. I remember Taniyama-san said it was dangerous the last time. But you used it anyway."

Oliver bit his lip.

"You can call me a fool, but at least I value the lives of the people I work with. Irresponsible people like you make me sick to my stomach."

Lin's eyes widened and he stepped forward, but Hirota was done.

"Yasuhara-san," Hirota asked, turning towards Yasuhara, "you said you would show me the way to Taniyama-san's room. I would like to go now if you would—"

"What are you talking about?" Oliver demanded.

Hirota's shoulders bristled, but he continued out of sight.

"I'll keep an eye on him boss, besides I don't even think she is awake," Yasuhara said before following Hirota out, the door shutting with a slight click behind him.

Oliver sat in his bed, his gaze now firmly fixed outside his window. The notebook rested, forgotten on his lap. His throat hurt, it felt packed tight with smooth but hard river rocks that choked him as he attempted to swallow.

She always came, it was inevitable. But she hadn't visited yet, but it was early still, and she had been angry.

"What, is he talking about?" Oliver repeated, his voice was low but there was a tremble in it that he dreadfully wished would behave itself.

Lin sighed.

"Mai passed out after the ambulance left. Yasuhara brought her here for treatment."

"You, knew," Oliver pushed out, "you didn't tell me."

"I knew you would try to blame yourself and after what Yasuhara told me I didn't want to add to the pressure on you."

"So, you lied to me."

"I was going to tell you."

"I have been awake for hours. When were you going to tell me?"

"When I knew, it was safe."

_Crack!_

The ceramic vase on the windowsill developed a fissure that snaked its way across its tacky design.

"See, this is exactly the kind of behavior I am talking about," Lin warned, dropping his previously concerned tone.

"She's unconscious," Oliver countered, squinting against the light from the window that was making his eyes water.

"She's not unconscious, she's just asleep. She woke up when they were examining her. She had a bit of a fever like you. But other than that, she just seemed to be exhausted. They gave her some fluids and let her rest. She will be fine."

Blinking against the sting, Oliver brought his attention to his notebook in his lap, hoping to escape the sun's attack on his eyes.

"I'd like to have the room to myself."

"I can't do that."

"The room, Lin." he rubbed at the insistent burning that refused to leave his eyes, but the gauze only irritated them more.

"Don't over analyze this, Noll. It had been a long few days. She was tired, things happen."

"You don't know that."

"You know differently?" Lin countered.

"I…"

"You think it's related to—"

"It has to be. It," Oliver clenched his fist, "it would explain this morning, the energy. I don't know how, but she did something. Something stupid, and dangerous."

"I think that something got your heart started again."

"My heart?" Oliver looked up at a Lin.

"Your heart must have stopped in the parking lot. They noticed the trauma when they were running their tests."

"When were you going to tell me that?"

Lin ignored the question.

"They asked Yasuhara if he had done CPR, he told them Mai had. But I don't think that was the case, do you?"

"No."

"No, but it doesn't matter. It was an accident; you pulled too much, it went bad, and luckily, somehow, she was able to save you. You should be grateful."

_I will make sure she is safe, and that means removing all of the threats. All of them._

Oliver turned back to the book in his lap, eyes following his fingers as they traced along the edges.

"Noll, I have to ask," Lin paused, "it _was_ an accident, right?"

Oliver opened his notebook and took the pen in hand.

"Noll, answer the question."

"Of course," Oliver flipped the page.

Lin sighed.

"Now who's lying."

"I didn't—"

"Yasuhara told me you thanked him when you got out of the car, that you sounded like you were saying goodbye."

_Thank you for your help Yasuhara, with everything._

"Tell me I'm wrong Oliver."

Oliver took a deep breath and turned his attention to his bandaged arm.

"What were you thinking?"

Oliver picked at the gauze on his arm.

"I need to know if I have to ask the doctors to put you on a watch?"

"Of course not, don't be ridiculous."

"Ridiculous? Based on what I know I have to believe that you entered that parking lot with the intention of dying. The _intention_ , Oliver. I cannot leave your side if there is even the slightest hint you might hurt yourself."

"I am not—"

"Then why did you overdraw like that? You knew the repercussions."

"I had to."

"Why?"

"I just, had to, I always have to."

"So, what it would be some sort of heroic sacrifice? Do you think Mai would want that?"

"I stopped him, didn't I?"

"And you landed yourself and Mai in the hospital."

"If I had known she would try to stop me I wouldn't have."

"It should never have been an option, I should never have let you go after her."

"It was my fault she was taken, I should have noticed. She was my responsibility—"

"And you are mine!"

Oliver jumped at the pain that enveloped the anger of the statement.

Lin sagged, a hand running over his face.

"You almost died Oliver, again, you can't do that."

Oliver swallowed and looked up at Lin. His eye was glassy and dark from lack of sleep. Oliver realized what had been happening. The glances, the refusal to sleep. Lin had been legitimately worried, that, was why he had been watching him so closely today.

"I'm, sorry," Oliver told him, "I'm an idiot. I didn't mean to worry you. I promise you, I have no intention of harming myself. I wasn't thinking clearly, it has passed."

"I want to believe you." Lin slumped back into his chair across the room.

"Tell me what I have to do to convince you."

Lin thought for a moment.

"I want you to talk Mai."

Oliver tilted his head, what did this have to do with anything?

"You said you would after the case. It's after the case."

"I will."

"Today."

"If that is what you wish. I will talk to her about the transference today. But Lin, how does this correlate to a concern for my self-preservation?"

"That's not the only thing you need to talk to her about."

"What else? The case? I suppose I should talk to her about Murphy."

"That's not it."

"Then what?" Oliver racked his brain trying to think of something else that Lin could want him to talk to Mai about. If he meant some topic of her interest the possibilities could be limitless. How was he supposed to discern what Lin wanted from these vague proclamations?

"You said you _had_ to save Mai," Lin said sitting up, "that you always had to, why is that?"

"I don't know."

"You're sure?"

Oliver tried to repress the scowl that wanted to form on his face. Here he was trying to reassure Lin and the other man seemed to be playing some sort of game. He expected better of him than this sort of subterfuge. If he wanted something why wouldn't he just ask for it.

"Lin, what are you on about?"

"Noll," Lin leaned forward in his seat the hint of a smile stretched across his tired face, "what did you talk to Yasuhara about in the car on your way to Mai?"

"I don't know, I can only remember bits and pieces, if I knew more I would—" Oliver paled as more of the memory rushed back, his eyes going wide, "oh."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes time,
> 
> So I was slightly wrong in my calculations and it looks like we still have one more chapter to go before the epilogue.
> 
> I already have the epilogue written (unless I change it again -_-*) and I am going to really push myself to get the last chapter done super fast. I have another story project I have a deadline to for later this summer so I set a personal deadline for this story of the end of May. I am not sure if I will meet it but I am damn-well gonna try.
> 
> As I mentioned before I will try to have a distribution plan for the sequel that I can share with you guys by the end of all this. Hopefully, I will at least settle on a title so I can let you know what to keep an eye out for.
> 
> I want to thank Agwen and Spirit_Weaver for their comments on my last chapter.
> 
> Sorry for being so slow and sorry for all the exposition, there is so much to wrap up.
> 
> Till next chapter,
> 
> Tiffo


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15- Mai

* * *

 

Mai brought a hand to her mouth as she yawned.

"Are you sure you are ready to go home?" Ayako asked looking back at Mai walking behind her.

"Yes," Mai said rubbing at her eyes with the undamaged back of her hand.

"You're sure you're not too tired?"

"I'm not that tiryarrd—" Mai yawned, "Besides, I will sleep better in my own bed."

Ayako stopped, looking Mai over in the hall of the hospital. A few nurses looked at them from their station in the middle of the corridor.

"Please, Ayako, the doctor said I could go home. I want to."

Mai didn't like how small her voice sounded in her own ears. But she wanted to go home, go anywhere, so she didn't have to stay here any longer than was necessary. She shivered and pulled her borrowed hoodie more tightly around herself.

"I understand. You just look like you are going to fall over where you stand. You could have waited for me to drop of Masako in your room. We didn't have to do the discharge papers f—."

"No," Mai interrupted, earning a look from Ayako.

When Ayako said that she was going to escort Masako down to Naru's room before they left Mai had felt her stomach drop. She couldn't be in that room by herself. Not after her dream last night.

It had been early, the first cracks of sunlight washing through the room, as she woke sweat slicked and gasping. Yasuhara had been there right away with soft words and sturdy arms as the loss of her mother washed over her as if for the first time again.

The rumbling of a nurse walking by pulling a tall piece of equipment caused her to jump.

She had to get out of here.

"I mean," Mai continued, pushing out a small smile, "why make you walk back and forth when I can just come with you?"

"You just want to see Naru," Ayako teased with a smirk before turning back to walking down the hall.

Mai looked at the floor. She did want to see him, Yasuhara had told her he seemed to be fine, but there was a nagging pain in her chest that wouldn't let her really believe him. She couldn't believe, not until she saw for herself.

But seeing, that meant being in the same room as him. Letting him see her. The shock in his eyes had been so clear. What if he was afraid of her?

Mai pulled up on her borrowed pants, wincing slightly at the protest from her tender fingers, and began following Ayako and Masako once more. She was going to have to get used to doing things left-handed for a few days.

As they passed the nurses station Mai looked at the shiny pink of her palm and fingers. What if she did it again? How could she stop it, if she didn't even know what she had done?

She needed time, she needed to think, about a lot of things.

Hirota had asked her to quit again, she had been surprised to see him in her room but she didn't have time to voice it, as he began a half-mumbled admonishment of her current situation. He had hoped maybe now she would understand how real the danger was. He had even offered to help her find another job, to 'get away' from Naru.

She couldn't bring herself to tell him that she was the dangerous one here. Instead, she just gave a small shake of her head, reminding him that she had no plans of stopping her work. She felt bad, he had come all this way to check on her and she had been quick to dismiss his support, but she wasn't going to stop just because he wanted her to.

Instead, Mai had asked after Yuuki but she soon regretted it.

Hirota told her Yuuki would be going to jail, that his confession would help the process move quickly. She had argued against the action, tried to get him to understand, but he had refused to listen. Before leaving, Hirota insisted she stop by the station to give her statement as soon as she was feeling able.

Mai groaned and pulled her pants once more. When she got home she was never going to get out of her bed again.

"Are those too big?" Ayako asked as she stopped in front of a door and held Mai with yet another weary look. "Are they bothering you?"

"No," Mai made herself let go of the material. John was nearly the same size as her and she was more than grateful for the change of clothes. But even that slight size difference left her grabbing at the pants on reflex as they slid just enough to convince her they were going to keep falling.

"I'm sorry we couldn't get your bag," Ayako told her reaching out to knock on the door in front of her. "Once Takigawa has his car back from the police we will get it to you. And you can get changed as soon as you get home."

"They would not be bothersome should you have accepted my offer of a kimono," Masako mumbled next to Ayako.

"Thank you, Masako, but I'm just more comfortable like this," Mai said, casually leaning against the wall as a small wave of dizziness struck.

Masako looked her up and down for a moment her face half hidden behind her kimono sleeve.

"Clearly," came the quiet reply.

Mai didn't bother to respond as she closed her eyes and hoped the spell would pass before Ayako noticed.

"Good Evening, Ladies," said a smug voice.

"Spare us Yasuhara, Mai needs to sit down."

"Ayako," Mai whined, "I'm fine."

But she also didn't protest as she was ushered in the room and lead to the loveseat on the far side of the room.

"I told you you were still tired," Ayako said as she guided Mai to rest, "Do you want me to call the doctor?"

"No," Mai mumbled shaking her head as it rested on the arm of the sofa.

Ayako's cool fingers came to rest on Mai's forehead.

"Do you want me to pull out the sleeper?"

"Good," Mai replied with another lazy head shake and curled her legs in on the seats.

"I can't tell if your fever is back or if you are just warm from being wrapped in that damned hoodie."

"Cold," Mai said pulling at the edges of the hood around her face her eyes holding closed exponentially longer with each blink.

"No, Mai, you might be too hot."

"Cold," Mai repeated, eyes falling closed and staying that way.

"Fine, you nap for now. But I am getting your temperature checked again before we leave."

"Yeee," Mai mumbled her mind drifting towards the darkness.

"Where is Naru anyway?" Ayako asked.

Mai's brain lurched, a hidden store of energy bubbling up to push her consciousness away from the darkness for a moment longer.

"Doing an ambulatory EKG," Yasuhara's voice replied.

"Already? How did he get the doctor to agree to that? I can't imagine he's ready for a stress test yet. It's only been twenty-four hours since he was admitted."

The responding silence was almost enough to make Mai want to open her eyes.

"Are you able to take Mai and I home now or do you still want to wait for Lin to get back?"

"I mean I did promise him I would keep an eye on the boss."

Mai strained against the darkness, but she could feel creeping towards her, blotting out bits of sound.

"…watching him from a room he does not occupy?" Masako's quiet voice asked.

"Well… I'm sure he's fine."

Mai's head was heavier and heavier the voices fading.

"No," Ayako responded to something Mai had missed. "It's weird, … not telling us? … want me to bring Mai? She needs to rest."

"It's import…" Yasuhara's voice completely disappeared as the darkness finally won over Mai's consciousness.

* * *

 

The room was quiet when she woke, her ears straining for something to fill the void. How long had she fallen asleep for?

"Ayako?" Mai called out with a yawn, stretching out on the couch.

"Yasuhara?" Mai's voice kicked up in pitch as she opened her eyes to a mostly darkened room of which she appeared to be the only occupant. Muffled voices from the hall behind the door moved past while a steady hiss sounded from a space nearby.

With the overhead off, a wall lamp by the empty bed left the room dim but clearly visible. Where was everyone? Mai rubbed her eyes and scanned the room once more. Was this a dream?

She looked out the window, but the lights she saw amongst the dark were those of nearby homes and business not the glowing orbs of the astral plane.

Mai caught sight of the empty hospital bed once more and shivered. Where had they gone? She could feel her heartbeat picking up. Yasuhara said he wouldn't leave her alone. Her limbs went heavy. He had promised that he would make sure someone was with her.

She pulled her hood down over her eyes, fingers retreating into her sleeves as she curled in on herself. She just had to think about something else. They would be back soon.

She listened, ears hunting for some sort of distraction from herself. The hiss was gone, she noticed, perhaps the air had finished running its cycle. Muffled voices passed the hall door once more.

_I'm sorry._

Mai held her hands over her ears.

_There was nothing they could do._

Mai rested her forehead on her pulled up knees, squeezing them between her crossed arms. She could go for a walk, find the others, she wasn't a patient anymore, she could leave anytime she wanted. Even the hollow company of being surrounded by strangers would help.

But what if she left and they came back and they couldn't find her? What if she lost her way?

_I just, don't want to be alone._ She thought, biting her lip.

_You are not alone._

Mai jumped, falling from her perch on the sofa. From her new position on the floor she scanned the room, she could see everything, there was nowhere for someone to hide, and there was no one else here. So how had she just heard Naru?

_Naru?_

_Mai._

What was happening? The realization hit her as she sat back on the cushioned seat.

So, she was back to this again, she supposed it made sense, she _had_ been trying to distract herself. Mai had spent a good portion of the day running through possible outcomes for her inevitable conversation with Naru. So, what was one more time? She needed the practice anyway.

_I'm sorry,_ Mai told the phantom Naru.

She didn't think she had the strength yet to tell the real him, but this was always how it started in the scenarios. No beating around the bush, just get it out there. It made her nervous, but she thought Naru would appreciate the straightforward approach.

_I, I'm not sure what I did, but I hurt you, I'm sorry Naru. I never should have touched you, I was just so worried. I thought, it felt like, if I didn't stop you, then you would_ _—_

_I told you to stop apologizing._

Mai could feel the annoyance in his response. It made the conversation feel more real. She wiped at her eyes and found a sad smile forming.

_And I told you I wouldn't. I almost killed you, Naru,_ Mai's fingers went cold again with the thought, _so yes, I'm sorry, of course, I'm sorry. If you had died, I…_

_You didn't almost kill me, that was my own stupidity._

_But when I touched you_ _—_

_You saved me._

Mai blanched at both the words and the softness that accompanied them. Saved him? That was not one of the responses she had ever imagined before.

_Don't say that_ , she countered.

_I thought I was going to save you, but you seem to have turned the tables on me once again, Mai._

She stood at her name, vison blurry and chin wobbling. There was something in the way it reached her that made her heart ache. A warmth she knew was impossible, yet screamed for all her attention. It was so much worse than the dismissal that he had given her in previous iterations.

_Stop it. You aren't supposed to say that. That's not how you talk. That's not what you would do._

She made for the hall door, she didn't care if she found the others or not. She had to leave.

_Wait._

Mai looked around at the call, then rolled her eyes at her own foolishness. She wasn't really having a conversation there was no one here to try to stop her.

Her hand was on the handle when the door to her left pulled open in a rush of light and heat. Mai jumped; her heart stuttering as she saw Naru standing in the doorway.

She couldn't move, it wasn't real, he couldn't be real.

But at the same time, he was so close she could feel the warm, humid air that spilled around him from the attached bathroom. She could smell soap and iodine, see the damp that clung in beads to his exposed skin. She recognized the grey pajama bottoms he wore and the matching top he had clenched in his hand.

She tried to look away. Surely, this counted as staring by now. But he was here, he was okay, and he was shirtless. It was extremely distracting.

"You're here," she whispered her hand drawn towards the drops of water that leaked from his too wet hair and ran down his face to his neck. Naru took a small step back leaving her fingers to brush the air.

Mai curled her hand back against herself, holding it in place with the other lest it should try to act on its own again. Of course, what had she been thinking, this was still Naru.

"Mai, we have to talk," Naru said making his way with calculated steps towards his bed.

"Naru, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he told her sitting on the bed and sliding his left arm into his shirt sleeve.

Mai looked away.

"Do you know where Ayako and everyone went?" She asked to drown out the sounds of his dressing, since turning her head had only left more to her imagination.

"They said something," Naru let out a hiss, "something about picking up some, ahh, some dinner."

Mai turned back to see Naru very carefully attempting to put his right arm into its sleeve a grimace twisting his face.

"Do you need help?"

"No," Naru replied before letting out another hiss of pain and pulling back on his arm.

"I thought you were supposed to be some sort of genius?" Mai quipped stepping forward and grabbing the end of the sleeve. Naru went ridged, but Mai ignored it and undid the button opening the end wider. Grabbing hold of the top and bottom of the sleeve she pulled it taut.

"See this way you can keep it from hitting your arm, come on, send it through," she instructed with a nod.

Naru looked back at her for a moment before extending his arm. Mai gave him as small smile as she finished rolling the sleeve back past his forearm.

Naru set to work on buttoning the shirt and Mai took the moment to allow herself to sink into the chair next to the bed. The dizziness was starting to work its way back. She swallowed against the nausea, closing her eyes and wishing it would just go and stay away.

He was looking at her when she opened them again.

"Mai."

"Does it hurt a lot?" she asked, gesturing to the red bands around his forearm.

"The ointment they provided is an analgesic," Naru said looking at the burn.

"That's good," Mai replied turning to her own hand; trying, and failing, not to imagine how perfectly her fingers would cover those marks.

Silence hung around them, it pricked at the space between her shoulders and left her knee bouncing.

"Mai—"

"How was the food? Did they have anything you could eat?"

"Awful, of course. My dietary restrictions are often hard to enforce when I am in hospital, but they can somewhat help when it comes to food quality. By now though, I am used to finding ways around the inconvenience."

"That's good, I guess," Mai said then thought with a shiver, _just how many times has he been to the hospital?_

"This time included, I think it would be twelve times."

"Twelve! Naru that sounds terrible."

"While they are by no means my preferred location to spend my time, I do not share your discomfort with hospitals."

Mai began to nod, but then stopped.

"Who told you I didn't like hospitals?"

"I, sort of picked it up."

"Oh."

"You know the worst part of being in a hospital though?"

Mai shook her head.

"The tea is always terrible."

Mai felt the corners of her mouth lift, of course, that would be the worst part of a hospital for Naru.

"Naru, did, did you just?" She looked at him, the pull on her mouth widening as he stared back, "were you being, funny?"

"Well, the tea is undeniably bad, but the statement was also intended to reduce your present concern. I believe I was successful?"

"Yes," she said, smile wide.

"Good, it was my goal to put you more at ease so we could have an important discussion."

Mai felt her knee, which she hadn't even noticed had stopped it's bouncing, start back up and her face go slack.

"Naru, you can't say that."

"Say what?"

"Now my nerves are even worse than they were before."

"But you just agreed I was able to reduce them."

Mai shook her head, the smile creeping back despite the flutter that refused to settle in her stomach.

"It's true, you have, what did you want to talk about?"

Naru sat up even straighter on his bed and Mai could recognize the face he made before he began lecturing them on a case. This really was serious.

"Mai, I need to speak to you today about transference."

"Okay."

"Transference refers to a phenomenon which can sometimes occur betwixt psychics. It often manifests as an interconnectivity and redistribution of psychophysiological effects between the two sources involved. This can present itself in a number of ways, but those manifestations always seem to increase."

"Increase?"

"Because of the limitations of qualitative research on this subject, the information collected can only serve to be phenomenological and not predictive or provide insight into its causes."

"Naru, why did you want to talk about this?"

He held up a hand.

"I am getting to that, you see part of the difficulty in recording the effects of transference is that there are variances amongst the cases and those cases which have not been disproved all together are minuscule. Had I not experienced something of this sort with Gene I would be even more dismissive of the possibility."

"The possibility of what?" Mai asked, she could feel the anxiety building in her gut.

"The possibility that my presence is influencing your psychic abilities." Naru's voice was as flat as ever, but Mai felt like he had to push the sentence out.

"Influencing?"

"Yes, and as we have no real way of determining to what extent the influence can spread so it was prudent that precautions be taken."

Naru looked at her asking something she couldn't make out.

She couldn't say anything. She didn't know what she would say. She felt like she was grasping at mists. Everything was around her, but she just couldn't get it to form in her head, to make any sense. The anxiety was climbing up her spine now she could feel her back straightening and her neck began to ache.

"You are nervous again," Naru told her, "Perhaps a demonstration would work better. You are not one for lectures."

"Hey," Mai said with an angry pout, "I happen to be a great student you know."

"I was unaware. Now, if you would stand over there I can show you what I mean or if you would like me to expound some more on the theories behind the research I have found…"

Mai sighed, but stood and moved to the open space of the room past the bed.

"Now close your eyes and spin in place until you feel that you are well and truly dizzy."

"What is the point of this?" Mai asked with a blank stare.

"Once you are completely disoriented, I want you to stop moving and with your eyes closed try to decide where I am and point at me. Wherever you think that might be."

"Don't laugh at me when I am pointing out the window."

Naru waited on the bed.

"Okay," Mai called, "here goes."

She began spinning, she could feel her still tired internal sense of balance start to protest almost immediately, but she pushed on for a few seconds more, until she felt she was just going to fall over if she let herself go any longer.

She waited for her head to settle, eyes still closed as she brought her arm up to point. Straight ahead of her at first but then she decided that it should be more to the right. It felt silly. To be so precise about a random selection.

"Oh wow," Mai peeked open an eye, and running her gaze down the appendage, found herself looking right at Naru "that was lucky. So, what was this supposed to prove?"

"Do it again," he instructed.

Mai couldn't help but feel like this was some sort of stalling tactic, but she closed her eyes and let the world begin to whirl and tilt until the ground felt as unsteady as her mind.

She stopped and brought her arm up and pointing to the right this time. She paused, Naru seemed to think this was very important. Did he really think she had done it on purpose? It was just luck. She hadn't actually _known_ where he was. Would he be disappointed when she ended up pointing at the wall?

She peeked an eye open, the other following suite as she once again looked down her arm at Naru sitting on his bed.

"Wow. How are you…," before Naru could reply Mai closed her eyes and began spinning once more. She hit something and nearly lost her balance but steadied herself and pointed.

"How," Mai watched his face hoping for some tell on the magic trick, but there was nothing, "what is happening?"

"I have already explained it to you."

"No, repeating textbooks doesn't count as an explanation. Why can I tell where you are?"

"While I am sure it is part of the effects of the transference. I'm not sure why. I wasn't even sure it would work. I theorized it would, but I wasn't sure until now."

"This transference, it connects us. But what does this have to do with my psychic abilities?"

_There is more than just the locational awareness._

"What else?" Mai asked as Naru seemed to stare at her.

_The transference appears to be creating a telepathic line between the two of us._

"How so…" she gasped, "your mouth it didn't, but I, heard…"

_I am speaking to you via a parapsychological connection to illustrate the psionic manifestation which I was referring to._

"But…"

"I will try to explain it in a way that you can understand, I am—

"I understand the theory of thought conveyance via latent telepathy, Naru," Mai hissed.

Naru's mouth shut with an audible pop.

"But what I don't understand is how did this all start? How did you figure it out? It's, it's not because of what I did, is it?"

Naru's head tilted.

"What did you do?"

"When I…," she nodded at his arm, holding out her hand.

"No, that was a manifestation of the transference, not its source."

"Oh," she sat on the loveseat, "can I ask, do you know, what happened?"

"I believe you found a way to manipulate and reverse the energy that I had produced to stun Yuuki," Naru told her.

Mai nodded.

"Unprepared for such an eventuality, I succumbed to its desired effect. Resulting in a burn to my forearm, unconsciousness, and a brief interruption to the functionality of my heart."

'A brief interruption', she gasped, her fingers clenching the rough fabric of the seat.

"I shouldn't have said that."

Mai felt a chill as her eyes began to sting her hands resting on her knees gone blurry.

"You were so cold, I couldn't feel…I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Stop, saying you're sorry."

"I don't know what else to say," she argued, guilt sharpening the words to a point.

"It was not your fault, it was mine. I was not thinking clearly. I put us all at risk."

Mai looked up and their eyes met, below that she could see his thumbs running over one another in a loop. She found her own discomfort masked by surprise at his.

"Do you recall having a telepathic dream involving a girl who was murdered in a park? It would have been a number of months ago."

Mai nodded, she had somewhat forgotten about it. It had been just a week or two before he left for the second time. And with everything that had happened she had shuffled it away to a bad dream.

"I caused that," he told her, his face too smooth, too blank, it made her uncomfortable. "I offered to help a diet member locate his missing daughter. I didn't realize what I found would make its way to you."

Mai blinked, running though her own thoughts. It felt familiar, how was this different than the process Gene had explained to her back on Midori's case? Why did Naru seem to think that this was so bad?

"I thought we already knew that," she said, "Gene had told me that he would direct me to versions of what you saw. Is that different?"

"It is potentially related, but it has _evolved_ , you see Gene chose to…" Naru paused for a moment, "he _chose_ to…"

Naru bit on the edge of his lip, his face darkening, eyes focused on nothing that she could see.

"Naru?" Mai leaned forward, "Naru are you okay?"

"The process seems to be occurring subconsciously and that makes it dangerous."

"I'm sorry."

"You are not…," Naru's hands clenched then slowly released as he turned to look at the wall to his left.

Mai leaned forward, but she could still barely hear it when he spoke again.

"You are not the reason for concern."

"But if I don't know how to stop this connection—"

"I should know," Naru's voice was sharp, "But, I don't, I don't know how to stop the dreams."

"Naru."

"I should have noticed sooner, there had to have been signs."

Mai watched Naru's fingers clench into tight fists in his lap, shaking just the smallest bit.

"You have to understand why I have to leave Mai, I cannot put you at greater risk of exp—"

"Leave?" she stared back at him, "Wait, are you saying that this, _this,_ was why you left?"

"Isolation was necessary in order to prevent further—"

"Are you kidding me?" she yelled.

Naru turned back to her, shock briefly visible across his face.

"Necessary? You left, you knew about all this, and you _left_? You weren't going to tell me?" Mai stood, her hands now clenched as she thought back to his rapid self-removal from her life.

Naru didn't respond.

"Why? Why would you think…"

"I couldn't stay, it was too dangerous."

"You could have told me, we could have figured something out," hurt fueled anger burning in the words and heating her whole body, "why wouldn't you just tell me?"

"I didn't want you to know," he burst out, their eyes meeting for a second before he turned to look away from her.

Mai felt the rejection hit her square in the chest. So, she wasn't even important enough to be told about her own weird psychic connections to him. She would be lying if she said she was completely surprised, but at the same time, she had thought that maybe, just maybe, all that work had been getting them somewhere.

It hurt, just as she expected it would, but part of her was clutching to its familiarity and that hurt more.

"Mai, don't misunderstand, it is because I value your opinion—"

"Please stop."

"I should explain."

"I would rather not hear it."

"Mai, there is something more I have to say."

"But I'm tired of listening, Naru."

Naru stared at her.

"When do I get to say what I think, what I want?" Mai asked, her voice weary.

Naru continued to look at her so Mai took that as consent to continue.

"You should have told me Naru. Maybe we could have done something and may we couldn't have. But it has to do with the both of us so we should have both been a part of the decision. I'm upset Naru, it hurts me that you wouldn't think I was worth sharing this information with."

Naru sat up and opened his mouth.

Mai held up a hand and Naru stopped, blinking.

"I guess what I'm saying is that I like working with you Naru. And I don't want to have to stop doing that. If you really think that this whatever it is that is going on between us is dangerous then I understand that you know more about it than me. But please just let me know. I know I'm not a ton of help but I can't help at all if I don't know what is going on."

"Look," she continued the anger fading from her voice, "I know you like to have your personal space. But I thought we were close enough that you would finally feel like you could let me in, at least a little. You don't have to do this by yourself."

Mai sighed.

"Okay, that's all I can think of right now, so go ahead. Tell me how wrong I am, all the things I don't understand."

Naru stared at her, but he didn't reply. Mai could feel that nervous itch forming between her shoulders.

"Well, Naru, _now_ you say something."

"I apologize, I am an idiot, I should have told you about what I had discovered."

She glared at him, searching for some hint that he was mocking her. But she couldn't find it. Everything about the comment felt sincere, almost repentant.

"What are you doing?" she countered, "If I don't get to apologize then neither do you, besides just the idea of you apologizing creeps me out."

Naru nodded and Mai settled back into the chair closer to the bed.

She watched him, unsure as to what they should talk about now? He wasn't upset, but she could see that he still sat uncomfortably and his smooth face seemed more deliberate than usual.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"What did I just say about being creepy?"

"I am attempting to fill the silence."

"Since when do you care about that?"

"It would not be for my benefit."

Mai felt her cheeks warm.

"What else did you want to talk about?" she asked.

He looked at her questioningly.

"Before, you said you had something else you wanted to tell me?"

Naru reached for his notebook.

"I… also wanted to express that I enjoy working with you," he told her as he opened it.

"How about we make a promise then?" Mai held out her hand to him, "from now on we're partners, and partners don't keep secrets, okay?"

It was risky to push him this much, but at the same time she didn't want to miss this chance to move their friendship forward. She was ready and willing to take whatever baby steps she had to. And a moment this open with Naru was not likely to occur again.

He looked at her hand and she felt doubt try to pull her hand back. Instead she stretched her fingers out hoping to encourage him to grasp it.

"Mai, isn't that your injured hand?"

"If you don't want to shake my hand you can just—"

Mai jumped as his hand came to rest around hers, prickles of energy sending her arm hair on end and making her elbow itch.

"We will have to work on energy transfer I see," he said.

She was about to agree when she felt Naru run a finger across her wrist towards her palm, once there he lifted the digit and repeated the gesture.

The tingling in her elbow began to fade, but the heat, it was everywhere, it left her mouth dry and her breath hard to catch.

Naru let go of her hand.

"Was that uncomfortable?" he asked.

Mai shook her head so vigorously the world started to spin again.

"No, what, um, were you doing?" her voice was quiet and a little breathless from the dizziness.

"I was attempting to recall the energy back," he said then held his hand out palm up for her to take.

She ignored the turmoil in her stomach and burning in her face and placed her hand back atop his.

"Can you feel it," he asked his finger now running light circles along the inside of her wrist, "the energy?"

"Yes," she agreed, it was like a warm pulse that brushed against her hand and ran up her arm, she thought about reaching for it, keeping it, but each time it slipped away in rhythm with his finger's movement on her wrist.

"Gene and I used to imagine tossing a ball back and forth to each other whenever we would handle transferring energy."

Mai looked up at him.

"We will have to determine what works best for you in the future."

Mai felt herself smile, her shoulders lifting.

"Does this mean you're staying?" she asked watching his eyes, "You promised, no more secrets, so you have to tell me."

"It would be difficult to teach you how to manage all this from England."

Mai squealed and launched herself at him.

They hit the raised back of the mattress with an _Oof!_

Mai's eyes went wide. She had just tackle hugged Naru! What had she been thinking?

Grimacing, she snuck a peek, his face was just as ridged as the rest of his body, shock and dismay clearly visible in his stony expression.

"Oh, I am so sorry," Mai said scrambling back to stand up, "I just got excited. I wasn't—"

A tug on her arm stopped her, she turned to find Naru was still holding her hand.

"Mai, if you feel compelled do that again," he said looking up at her, "I would appreciate some forewarning," his face was still stoic but the discomfort was gone.

Warning? Not, never touch him again? If she warned him would he let her hug him?

"I promise," she offered with a smile and shook their clasped hands, "no more surprise hugs."

As her hand slowed, she didn't pull it from his, and more surprisingly, he didn't move his from hers. They just stayed there, hands clasped, eyes drawn to the connection for a time before moving back to meet.

"Mai, I…"

Mai felt something heavy settle in her stomach as their gaze held.

"I know it's not right of me to say anything, but you said no secrets."

"Yeah?" she asked, had she said that? That sounded familiar, but right now it was hard to remember much of anything.

"And I would like to honor that request," his hand twitched in hers and she loosened her grip, but instead of slipping away like she thought he would his own grip tightened.

"What is it Naru?" she asked her own hand squeezing back in support.

"I'm an idiot."

Mai let out a bark of a laugh.

"What, no you're not, what does that mean?"

Naru took a deep breath.

The door handle clicked followed by the sound of Yasuhara and the others returning.

Mai jumped and felt Naru's fingers slip from her own as she turned to face the others' chorus of hellos.

"Mai, you're awake," Ayako said pushing past Yasuhara to bring a hand to Mai's head, "You still feel warm. How do you feel?"

"Much better."

"Good, are you sure you don't want me to have the doctor's look you over one last time?"

"I am sure Ayako."

"Are you hungry Mai?" Yasuhara asked.

"Starving."

Yasuhara put his bags down and began rummaging through them.

"Here give this a try," he said offering her a foam container.

Mai took it with a happy inhale, her stomach growling.

"Here boss, I got you the best I could find. The convenience stores near here aren't exactly focused on variety," Yasuhara said placing a container on the bedside table.

Naru briefly looked up from his notebook to acknowledge the food but returned to his notes.

_You should eat that,_ she told him.

Naru turned the page.

_Naru, I know you can hear me._

His eyes darted up to give her a quick glare then fell back to the page.

_Naaarrrruuuu._

_I immediately regret making you aware of this ability._

Mai smiled.

"Mai, come sit with us and eat," Ayako called from the loveseat.

"Okay," Mai replied still looking at Naru, _you better eat._

Mai felt a small wave of benevolent annoyance radiate from Naru's direction.

_Did you just mentally roll your eyes at me?_

Naru didn't reply, but Mai could have sworn she saw the corners of his mouth curl upwards as he reached for his container of food.

"So," Yasuhara said sitting in the chair next to Naru as Mai headed for the loveseat, "you guys have a good chat? What, it's just a question boss."

"Mai," Naru called out.

"Yeah?" she asked turning back, a warm contentment resting in her chest.

"Tea."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there it is Chapter 15, the last main chapter. All we have left now is the epilogue. And good news it's done. My plan is to post it next A week after this one and that just so happens to be on Mai's birthday on July 3rd so that date is too good to pass up. Especially since I first started publishing this right around the time of Naru's birthday in 2015.
> 
> As I previously mentioned I do have plans for a sequel to this, but I don't plan on even potentially starting it until this fall so there will be a rather large time gap while I work on some other projects before that sequel comes around.
> 
> Till Last Chapter...


	17. Epilogue

"Naru, it's just over here." Mai called out spinning her umbrella handle in her fingers and sending a short burst of water flying around her while she waited for him to catch up. Only a few people were milling about the temple grounds. The rain most likely keeping those other than the most stubborn from traveling out.

"Who is he?" Oliver asked, looking over at Mai when he stopped next to her.

She tilted her umbrella back to get a clearer view of him.

"Who?"

"The monk that all the statues depict." There had to be hundreds of the small statues all aligned in symmetrical lines across the temple grounds. Their bald heads, long robes, and bare feet marking them as bodhisattva but that was the limit of Oliver's Buddhist knowledge.

"Jizō."

Oliver was tempted to tell her that meant nothing to him, but did not rush a response.

Small toys hung from a number of the statues while soggy blankets and hats adorned many more.

"He is the protector of lost souls, he watches over travelers and, anyone, really. But here, people come  _here_ , to thank him for his protection over their lost children. The story is Jizō hides them in the long sleeves of his robe and sneaks them across the river to the afterlife so they don't have to serve penance for not having outlived their parents."

Oliver watched as a woman place a small knit cap atop one of the bare heads. Her hands then clasping together as she gave a silent prayer.

"Why is she doing that?"

Mai smiled.

"So, he doesn't get cold."

"He is a statue."

"It's just a way of saying thank you Naru. Of working through the grief associated with losing a baby. It's really for her, not the statue."

"That is typical of religious acts. They serve to comfort the supplicant rather than to actually appeal to a potential deity's in—"

"Naru," Mai looked back up at him, "Save the lecture for when we get back to the office. This is important and I don't need it ruined with all your textbook nonsense."

Oliver nodded.

"I don't suppose you want to come with me?" she asked holding up the rattle.

He didn't respond.

"I'll be right back. Just wait here and don't be rude to anyone," she scolded before walking towards a section of statues devoid of other devotees.

Oliver watched as Mai placed the rattle at the feet of one of the statues. Her head was blocked from view by the curve of her umbrella but he knew she was offering a small prayer on behalf of a child more than a hundred years lost that she had never met. It was what he had come to expect from Mai, it was a big part of why he admired her so much.

"A beautiful day."

Oliver looked to his left to see a monk standing by his side, rain beading atop his bald head before sliding down the sides of his face.

He was about to ignore him but a glance at Mai found him nodding instead.

The monk smiled at him, eyes soft with the compassion of someone regularly called on to comfort the suffering.

"The fires of suffering are lit in the friction between the truth of this reality and the desires of the wanting mind."

Oliver was unsure how to explain to the man that he was not in need of comforting without Mai thinking he was being rude.

"How do you stop the mind from wanting?" he asked him, glancing back at Mai, hoping she would be done soon.

"One does not find peace through force. Instead, we must train the mind to want what is already  _in_  this reality."

The monk gave him a small bow and smile, but Oliver didn't respond, he was already drifting back.

" _So, you ready for round two?" Yasuhara asked._

_Oliver pulled his gaze from the window to look at Yasuhara._

" _Round two?"_

" _Of our conversation."_

" _We are attempting to rescue Mai."_

" _Right, what better time? Two birds, you know."_

" _I do not, but turn left up here."_

_Yasuhara took the turn hard, pulling at their seat belts._

" _I would like to actually be able to make it to Mai," Oliver complained._

_Yasuhara let out a breath and eased back on the accelerator, slightly._

_Oliver flipped the key around in his fingers a few times._

" _The key, does it let you see Mai?" Yasuhara asked, turning on the car's lights, the dark clouds overhead bringing on the evening._

" _It depends on the object and how I am able to use it. With random objects, it could show me images or memories. If I am lucky it may show me something that is indicative of the owner's most recent moments. Sometimes I am not so lucky and they are random or there is nothing at all."_

_Yasuhara nodded, glancing at Oliver to continue._

" _But for someone I know, someone I can connect to. I can use it more directly. Almost as if it were a compass pointing me in their direction over longer distances."_

" _Then, I guess it was pretty lucky that you had it."_

" _It has proven fortuitous that she decided to give it to me."_

" _And that you kept it."_

_Oliver looked up, eyes fixed on a point he could not yet see ahead of them. Yasuhara turned on the wipers as the threatening rain finally broke._

" _Why_ did _you keep it?"_

_Oliver remained silent._

" _Do you even know?" Yasuhara tried again, side eyeing Oliver._

" _Because it is special to her, and she had asked me to." Oliver steadied himself as the car swerved. "Please pay attention to the road Yasuhara."_

_Oliver could see Yasuhara's gaze slide back to the front, his eyes wide, knuckles white on the wheel._

_He ignored it, keeping his attentions firmly planted on that spot of heat in the distance._

_Yasuhara's mouth opened then closed, then opened again, the desire to ask for more information clear on his face._

_He wasn't sure why, maybe it was the distraction in the distance that loosened his tongue, maybe he needed something to distract him from that distraction, or maybe it was because something deep inside wanted Oliver to break the silence._

" _Because it remined me of why I had to keep my promise," he turned his head to the side window and added, "because it was a way to break that promise."_

_From the reflection in the window Oliver saw Yasuhara squeeze the wheel his eyes flicking to steal glances at him before returning to the road._

" _Boss, how do you feel about Mai?"_

" _I'm not sure what you mean."_

_Yasuhara sighed._

" _I should have known it wasn't going to be that easy."_

" _Take another left when next you can we are veering to the right of her location."_

" _Boss," Yasuhara began turning them on the next street, "what do you think of Mai?"_

_They sat in silence for a moment more._

" _I think she is an asset to the team."_

_Yasuhara sighed again and Oliver tried to determine how he had misspoke this time. Did he not answer the question as asked? Perhaps Yasuhara needed examples._

" _I think she acts before she thinks." He said, then waited to see if this was more acceptable. After a pause in which Yasuhara did not sigh he continued, "she worries about the interests or concerns of others more than the potential consequences for herself. I think those actions are irresponsible, but at the same time they draw in those around her. I think overall she has a positive effect on the lives she interacts with."_

" _So, it's a good thing?"_

" _Her ability for compassion is indeed fascinating, I did not think a person could be so interesting."_

" _So, you kept the key, when you moved away."_

" _I did, I thought it would be enough."_

" _Enough, what?"_

" _Just, enough," Oliver sighed, even he knew that answer would not do. And a glance back at Yasuhara confirmed the inadequacy of the reply. He took a deep breath and tried again._

" _Enough to allow her to fade with time and distance, enough that I wouldn't find myself usurping my own work with thoughts on her circumstances or wellbeing. Enough that it wouldn't… be painful every time I remembered I had promised not to see her again."_

" _But it wasn't?"_

_Oliver shook his head._

" _So, you did miss her."_

_Oliver kept his gaze focused out the window, he felt uncomfortably exposed, and he didn't wish to see that exposure confirmed in Yasuhara's gaze._

" _You just described what it is like to miss someone."_

_Sitting back in his chair Oliver took his chin in his hand._

" _I see, then yes, I missed her."_

" _Naru, I don't mean to push you, but I got to be honest. I don't think that is all that means."_

_Oliver looked back at Yasuhara. Had he described some sort of pattern? A greater meaning?_

" _What does it mean?"_

" _I don't know how to…," Yasuhara snapped his fingers "how about this, I want you to think about Mai running away with Yuuki."_

" _She didn't, she was taken against her will."_

" _This is a hypothetical."_

" _But it wasn't her, she was possessed by Eloise."_

_Yasuhara sighed again and flexed his grip on the wheel._

" _Okay, different tactic, what did you want to say whenever you saw the two of them together?"_

" _While inconvenient to the work, it is not my place to speak on_ _—_ _"_

" _What did you_ want _to say? I don't care if you didn't say it or shouldn't say it. Did you want her to be spending her time with him? Yes or No."_

" _No."_

" _Was it annoying?"_

" _Beyond frustrating."_

" _Why?"_

" _Because it was distracting her from her work."_

" _Everything, Naru, everything you wanted to say. What more is there?"_

" _I cannot," Oliver could feel the familiar itch and tightening between his shoulders that came before the inevitable joke at his inability to grasp what they always called 'the obvious'._

" _Why?" Yasuhara asked._

" _Because, it was not for me to think."_

" _What wasn't?"_

" _The frustration."_

_There was no point in arguing against the joke, that only caused them more mirth. Oliver used to try to explain that it was misnomer. Clearly, it wasn't obvious or he wouldn't need it explained._

" _Over what?"_

" _That he was distracting her."_

" _From work?"_

" _From me," Oliver snapped, waiting for the repercussions of his confusion and abruptness._

" _Thank you!" Yasuhara yelled, slapping his hands against the steering wheel._

_Oliver jumped, his nerves were so keyed up waiting for the slight it took him a moment to realize it hadn't occurred. Yasuhara wasn't laughing, he was smiling, but it didn't feel spiteful._

" _What for?" Oliver asked._

" _I'll tell you when you're older."_

_They traveled a few moments more in silence. Oliver was unsure as to what just happened. Had the joke been so 'obvious' that he missed the cut. He glanced at Yasuhara again, he was still smiling, but he wasn't laughing. It didn't fit with any of the other times he had been forced to play the fool._

" _Take the next right that you can. We are veering." Oliver told his companion._

" _Naru, you know what that was don't you?" Yasuhara asked glancing once more in his direction._

" _What was what?"_

" _Why you didn't want to see Mai with Yuuki."_

" _Because he has proved to be a criminal."_

" _You were jealous."_

_Oliver didn't reply._

" _It's fine. Everyone gets jealous."_

_Oliver looked out the window. Jealous?_

" _But the reason why you were jealous, you understand what that was don't you?"_

_Oliver could see Yasuhara looking over at him as often as he could, the road only given cursory glances._

" _You honestly don't get it, do you?"_

" _Yasuhara, is there a point to all this?" They needed to get to Mai, she was very close now, and it was hard to focus on the work at hand when that itch refused to go away._

" _Yes, there's a point. I was trying to be nice and guide you there. Naru, listen, there's a word for that reason."_

" _Idiot."_

_Yasuhara laughed._

" _Well, yes, on some levels. But the word I was thinking of was love."_

_Oliver sighed, his eyes finally turning to meet Yasuhara's._

" _I was worried you would say that."_

" _Worried?"_

" _I have been attempting to dissuade myself of that conclusion for some time now." Oliver took a deep breath and the weight of it settled in the car._

" _Naru?"_

" _We are getting close. Before we are too close pull over. I'm going to get out. I want you to head in and get their attention. Get Mai if you can. I will come from the other side and take care of Yuuki."_

" _Are you sure?"_

" _If you have come to the same conclusion then it would be foolish of me to deny that I love her."_

_Yasuhara grinned broadly._

" _I was asking about your plan, but I'm glad you finally caught up with the rest of us."_

_Oliver's cheeks paled, "does everyone know?"_

" _Not the person who should."_

_His face fell._

" _You cannot tell her."_

" _Of course, I won't, that's your job, boss."_

" _I… cannot."_

" _I know it feels impossible, but I believe in you."_

" _I mustn't."_

" _Naru_ _—_ _"_

" _She is in love with Gene. I would only complicate things. Slowdown, she is to the left up ahead."_

_Yasuhara slowed the car._

" _There, I see a turn up ahead, that must be it. Pull over here."_

" _Look Naru, I don't mean to be heartless, but Gene is dead. Mai mourned him, we all saw it after you left the first time. But she moved on. You have to at least try."_

" _She will not reciprocate."_

" _You don't know that."_

" _She_ has _to say no."_

" _Why?" Yasuhara brought the car to a stop on the shoulder of the road._

_Oliver opened the door, rain pelting the side of his face._

" _Because if she said yes, I would not have the strength of will to keep what little of my promise I have remaining."_

" _Naru," Yasuhara reached out to stop him as Oliver made to move out._

_Oliver glared at the hand on his shoulder then back at Yasuhara who pulled back._

" _I will make sure she is safe, and that means removing all of the threats. All of them. Wait for two minutes."_

_Oliver stepped into the rain, a shiver running over him. He turned back the rain plastering his hair against his face._

" _Make it one minute."_

" _You got it, boss."_

_Oliver moved to shut the door but stopped and ducked his head down once more._

" _Thank you, for your help Yasuhara, with everything."_

_Oliver swung the door shut and started into the trees, his pace picking up with the rising panic he could feel coming from Mai._

_He just had to get there, he would make sure she was safe._

The harsh crack of a shishi-odoshi left him blinking in the rain. His heart was racing as it had been in the woods.

Mai was by the statues, Oliver reassured himself. He could see her bowing her goodbyes to the same monk who had spoken to him. She was less than ten meters away.

She turned and smiled at him, his heart settling back into a languid pace.

He wondered what had she and the monk had been talking about?

His own conversation from only a moment before rushing back after what felt like hours.

This reality and what he wanted?

His feet started towards her of their own volition.

That seemed impossible, at the very least improbable.

He could see the tear stains still drying on her cheeks.

"Hey," she said as he stopped next to her, her teeth biting down on her lip to stop its quiver.

He watched the fingers of her free hand wave towards his before pulling back, but the need never retreated. He could feel her need for comfort, the ache that trembled beneath the surface. If she didn't find a way to calm it soon she was going to cry again.

On their next swing, he caught her fingers, weaving his own between hers and locking his hand around her smaller one.

She looked up at him eyes wide.

"You should ask if you need something Mai, otherwise your mind screams it."

"Thank you for coming with me today," she told him.

Oliver nodded.

A shy smile followed a blush to Mai's face and she squeezed his fingers.

"Naru, I know we said we were partners in the hospital," Mai looked down squeezing his fingers, "but I was hoping, I figured I would at least try, and you can say no…"

"Just ask, Mai."

"Well, I was hoping that maybe, if you were okay with it, that maybe we could be more then partners?"

Oliver couldn't respond.

The desires of the wanting mind.

It was not possible. But if she asked, he couldn't lie. Not now, not to her. He already knew how brittle his promise was, perhaps he should just let it shatter.

"Naru, would," the color in her cheeks rose, but Mai brought her chin up their gazes locked. As always Oliver felt locked by her eyes, unable to escape.

But this time it didn't just hold him frozen it pulled at him. Opening his mouth and drawing up words he had fought to keep locked away.

"Mai,…"

"Would you be willing to be my friend? That's all, nothing weird, I promise."

Weird.

His hand jerked before he could stop it, grasping on instinct as the world fell out from under his feet.

"I'm sorry, it's too much, just forget I said anything," Mai hung her head to try to hide her embarrassment.

Of course, she was right, anything more would be weird. What would he offer? Holding her hand was still a conscious effort. He understood enough about relationship expectations to know that was not enough. He would be lying to both of them if he claimed that could change.

"Friends," he pushed the word out and she turned back to him her eyes shining with hope and unshed tears, "I can't promise I will be very good at it."

"Really?" Mai asked squeezing his hand, "You will?"

"Indeed," he told her.

She bounced on her feet, biting her lip.

He looked at her. 

He could do this.

"I really want to hug you right now."

"Right now?" he swallowed.

"Yes, idiot."

He should tell her no, just because he agreed to be her friend didn't mean he had to say yes.

Oliver nodded.

Mai's arms crashed around him, the air knocked from his lungs and their collective balance only saved by a quick step back. She buried her head against his neck and Oliver gave up any hope of catching a breath.

His legs wanted to give out, fire burning through his veins.

She gave him one last squeeze. As her arms loosened, falling from his body, Oliver tried every memorization technique he had at his disposal to cement the moment before in his mind.

"Thank you," she smiled up at him, "I think we should get going if we are going to catch the next train."

Oliver nodded but didn't move to follow her.

Mai walked a few paces more before she realized he wasn't at her side.

"Naru?" she called back, but he didn't stir, "Come on, I'll make you a cup of tea when we get back to the office. You probably need a fix by now."

Mai grinned, pleased with her tease, and Oliver realized it didn't matter.

His feet suddenly free of the mire that had held them in place, he made his way towards her.

It was true, what he wanted could not exist in this reality. But if she was safe, if he could make sure she could smile like that despite her tears.

Then what was a little heat?

"You okay, Naru?" she asked her smile more nervous as he stopped in front of her.

Oliver nodded, an unhidden smirk forming as he reached up and gave her forehead a light flick.

"Naru," Mai admonished her cheeks coloring as she started down the path.

"Is not that strange?" he said, grin widening as he followed.

* * *

 _All the colors of the rainbow_  
_Hidden 'neath my skin_

 _Hearts have colors, don't we all know?_  
_Red runs through our veins_

 _Feel the fire burning up, inspire me with blood_  
_Of blue and green_

 _I have hope, inside is not a heart_  
_But a kaleidoscope_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: A/N: slight edit to the ending lines to help better set up the quote at end. When it comes to Mai, Naru can't help but quote him some Willy S.
> 
> Well, there it is. The end of Kaleidoscope Heart. I know things probably didn't wrap up as everyone hoped. I will say that this is a happier note than the previous version of the ending I had. Which is part of the reason why this is late. When I went through and edited this chapter I realized I wanted things to be a bit more uplifted if still melancholily so. We will see who gets the joke (or maybe homage or easteregg? I am not sure what to call it.) at the end.
> 
> As I mentioned before there will be a sequel to this, as of right now the title for that one is At Second Sight. And where this book really focused on Oliver's emotional struggles and growth and him coming to understand that he was even capable of complex emotions like love the second book will be Mai's book.
> 
> I have a number of other projects in the pipeline before I can get back to this series. So please expect a minimum of a six-month hiatus before you see any more of this series. That would mean that as of right now you shouldn't expect to see anything until Early 2018. Part of the reason for the delay on that is the fact that I want to have a number of chapters done before I post and I have a very busy summer and fall coming up for work and volunteer projects.


End file.
